James May has said he disagrees with 120 UK-based millionaires including Gary Lineker who have urged Andy Burnham to impose higher taxes on their wealth.
The group have claimed extra money raised from higher taxes on wealth could be used to reduce inequality, support public infrastructure and back small businesses.
A letter to the Prime Minister from the Patriotic Millionaires UK campaign group, says a 2 per cent tax on wealth over £10million could raise £24billion a year for the UK.
But former Top Gear presenter May has insisted he ‘already pays loads of tax’ and encouraged the wealthy to instead donate the extra 2 per cent to good causes.
When asked on LBC radio whether he agrees with the former Match of the Day host’s stance released in the ‘Proud to Pay’ letter yesterday, 63-year-old May said ‘No.’
Presenter Tom Swarbrick asked him why, and May responded: ‘I already pay loads of tax. Am I supposed to volunteer to pay some more?’ Swarbrick then pressed May, saying: ‘Well, you can do, of course. You can pay whatever you like to HMRC.’
And May told him: ‘You absolutely can. You could pay your whole income to HMRC if you like. And those people who say, I’d gladly, gladly pay an extra 2 per cent tax if it went to the homeless or military veterans or the disabled or whatever. There are plenty of people who will take that extra 2 per cent from you if you wish to donate it.’
Swarbrick asked him: ‘So you don’t feel that there is a patriotic argument for millionaires to pay more in tax, however that is defined or alighted upon?
Former Top Gear presenter James May has insisted he ‘already pays loads of tax’
Gary Lineker is among 120 millionaires calling on Andy Burnham to impose higher taxes
And May replied: ‘I mean, wealthier people already pay more tax. The rate increases and it’s a greater absolute amount as well if you have more income. ‘
It comes as a Treasury minister declined to say whether Mr Burnham’s Government will heed the call for the higher tax.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the offer, but said any announcement on tax policy would be made in the budget.
In full: ‘Proud to Pay’ letter from Patriotic Millionaires UK to Prime Minister Andy Burnham
Dear Prime Minister,
As our country takes its first step on a new road with you, we hold onto hope and promise: not just for millionaires like us, but with hope in every heart for a better life for everyone. We know our country – its regions, cities, towns, and villages – deserve a better hand than what they’ve been dealt for these last four decades.
As millionaires we have a clear message for you, our new Prime Minister: tax us. We are proud to pay and here to stay.
We know that wealth and power has been concentrated in a small group for too long, at the cost of our country, its people, our democracy and our environment. For a better Britain this has to change; we need to embrace a new kind of devolution of wealth and power, from the very richest in order to reinvest back into our greatest asset in every region—our people.
It is not just us. We represent the majority of UK millionaires. 75 percent of millionaires polled support higher taxes on themselves to defend what they are proud of in this country; and 88 percent are proud to live here. Millionaires are a patriotic bunch – we love this country and we want it to succeed. But success requires investment and a primary source of untouched capital investment is sitting with us, in untaxed potential.
We want you to tax us. We can afford it. We’re not talking about higher taxes on those who get up and go to work for their income every day, but on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold.
As you decentralise political power, you should also disperse economic power. Extreme wealth sitting idle in the hands of a few can be put to work: reducing inequality, investing in sustainable jobs, strengthening hospitals, schools and social care, supporting entrepreneurs with the skills and infrastructure they need, and giving small businesses access to affordable finance. Our wealth is our country’s secret weapon – let’s get serious about using it.
There are a few people left with outdated economic thinking and few others desperate to hold onto every penny they can. But they are a minority. Those that can’t see past the end of their own self interest have no place in designing a Britain for the future.
As we embrace this new road – please consider taxing us properly as our contribution to it. We love this country. It’s time for a better Britain; it’s time for everyone here to feel Great Britain. It’s time to tax us, the super rich.
The Signers
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She would not be drawn into whether Mr Burnham will consider what the millionaires are asking for, telling Sky News: ‘Well, look, it’s day four of this new Government, and obviously any major tax changes would be announced at a budget.
‘I welcome the fact that people of good means are saying that they want to pay more. They can pay more. There is a link on gov.uk, but look, we have to look at tax policy in the round, and we only make major tax announcements at budgets.’
The letter from the Patriotic Millionaires UK group reads: ‘We want you to tax us. We can afford it. We’re not talking about higher taxes on those who get up and go to work for their income every day, but on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold.’
Lineker said: ‘Paying your fair share is a basic British value, but so many ordinary people are already paying more than they can afford.
‘Our richest people can do more and most want to. Our fantastic country deserves all of us to get behind it. I’m proud to stand with people across the UK who want to live in a more equal society.
‘To live up to our national values our new Government must raise taxes on extreme levels of wealth for a fairer, better, more hopeful Britain.’
Other signatories include crime writer Val McDermid, musician and songwriter Brian Eno, former chairman of Greggs Ian Gregg, economist and former City trader Gary Stevenson, and investor Julia Davies.
In addition to the wealth tax, Patriotic Millionaires also said reforms to capital gains tax could raise a further £12billion.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said a wealth levy is not the answer to raising UK living standards.
She told reporters after a London speech: ‘On Gary Lineker, he’s very welcome to pay more tax. He can write a cheque to the Treasury. No one’s stopping him.
‘But right now, we are seeing the people who create jobs leaving the country… If we keep taxing the people who create the jobs, who generate the growth, we’re not going to have any taxes at all.’
She added that tax rises and ‘pennies here and there’ do not increase our standard of living, and that the focus should be on ‘backing business so that they can create jobs and create growth’.
Ms Davies, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, said: ‘We millionaires are here to be taxed more and we urge our new PM to grab this opportunity with both hands and tax our wealth. This is a fresh opportunity for our country.
‘A chance for the Prime Minister to help rebalance power, reduce the shocking levels of wealth inequality which intensifies the cost of living crisis, and raise much-needed revenue for our public services, improving life for everyone.’
Polling from the campaign group showed that 80 per cent of UK millionaires support a 2 per cent tax on wealth over £10 million.
‘As you decentralise political power, you should also disperse economic power,’ the open letter adds.
‘Extreme wealth sitting idle in the hands of a few can be put to work: reducing inequality, investing in sustainable jobs, strengthening hospitals, schools and social care, supporting entrepreneurs with the skills and infrastructure they need, and giving small businesses access to affordable finance.
‘Our wealth is our country’s secret weapon – let’s get serious about using it.’
May presented the BBC motoring show alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015 and was known as ‘the other bloke from Top Gear’.
He also earned the nickname ‘Captain Slow’ for his performances in challenges.
After leaving Top Gear, the presenting trio went on to make a new motoring show for Amazon Prime Video called The Grand Tour, which ran from 2016 to 2024.
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