Gary Lineker and other millionaires ask the British 'premier' to make the rich pay more taxes

LondonThe forward of the English football team, of Leicester and Barça, and former BBC star, Gary Lineker has joined a signed open letter for 120 British millionaires asking the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to create a wealth tax. The letter, driven by the Patriotic Millionaires collective, argues that the concentration of wealth has increased inequalities and calls for higher taxation on the highest fortunes, not on earned income.

Lineker, 65, with an estimated fortune of £30 million, states along with the rest of the signatories that the wealthiest "can do more" and that "paying their fair share is a fundamental British value". Among those supporting the initiative is also musician Brian Eno, director and screenwriter Richard Curtis ("Four weddings and a funeral) and the financial ex-operator and broker of the City Gary Stevenson. The former footballer's repeated commitment to all sorts of social causes, for example the defense of the Palestinian people or criticisms of many economically conservative measures during the governments of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, have made him an icon of the progressive movement in the United Kingdom.

In the letter to first, the group of millionaires proposes, among other measures, an annual tax of 2% on assets exceeding 10 million pounds and to equate capital gains taxation with that of labor income. In the United Kingdom, the maximum capital gains are taxed at 24% while labor income can reach 45%.

The initiative, that they already demanded five years ago from the then Boris Johnson government, a few days after Burnham admitted, in an interview with Lineker himself, that the government might end up asking "a little more" from wealthier taxpayers to balance public finances. However, the new first avoided committing 100 percent to a wealth tax.

The proposal has provoked a swift response from the opposition. The Reform Party, led by the far-right Nigel Farage, which is being investigated by the House of Commons for not having declared a couple of donations, one of which for five million pounds, has described the letter as a "posturing" by the super-rich. His Economy spokesperson, former Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, stated that "if Gary Lineker and others want to pay more taxes, they can send a cheque to the Treasury today." The Conservative Party has also criticized the initiative, warning that a wealth tax could discourage investment and encourage capital flight from the UK.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, nearly 30% of income tax revenue comes from the top 1% of earners. However, proponents of a wealth tax argue that taxing large fortunes would reduce inequality and strengthen investment in public services, while opponents warn of the difficulties in its application and its potential negative effects on the economy.