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120 Millionaires Including Lineker Urge 2% Wealth Tax

7/23/2026

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Center

Millionaires Urge Tax

120 millionaires, including Gary Lineker and Brian Eno, sent letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging a 2% wealth tax over £10 million.
The letter frames the tax as a patriotic duty; Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch retorted Lineker could simply write a cheque to Treasury.
Patriotic Millionaires organized the letter; Treasury chief Emma Reynolds said she would welcome donations.
Burnham said he not ruled out a wealth tax in his term.

Left

Millionaires Urge Tax

120 UK millionaires, including Gary Lineker and Brian Eno, sent a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging a wealth tax on the rich.
Economists Gabriel Zucman and Ben Tippet say a 2% tax on households over £100 million could raise £10 billion annually.
Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds welcomed the proposal but said change must await the budget.
The ‘Proud to Pay’ letter says the tax would lower inequality and help small businesses.

Blindspot

Blindspot

Economists Gabriel Zucman and Ben Tippet estimate that a 2 % minimum tax on households with over £100 million could raise about £10 billion each year.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

France first adopted a wealth tax in 1988 under President François Mitterrand, expanding a 1981 Socialist Party pledge; it peaked at €4.07 billion in 2007 (1.4 % of revenue) before Macron’s government abolished it in September 2017 and replaced it with a real-estate-only IFI. The UK’s current call for a 2 % levy echoes this European cycle of wealth-tax adoption and repeal.

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Millionaires Urge Tax

120 millionaires, including Gary Lineker and Brian Eno, sent letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging a 2% wealth tax over £10 million.
The letter frames the tax as a patriotic duty; Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch retorted Lineker could simply write a cheque to Treasury.
Patriotic Millionaires organized the letter; Treasury chief Emma Reynolds said she would welcome donations.
Burnham said he not ruled out a wealth tax in his term.

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