A Treasury minister has declined to rule out introducing a “wealth tax” after Gary Lineker and other millionaires backed calls for the richest individuals to contribute more.
Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds said only that any tax decisions would be set out in the Autumn Budget when questioned over Left-wing pressure for a levy on assets.
She also noted, however, that Lineker and other wealthy supporters of higher taxes already have the option of making voluntary payments to the public purse.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously hinted at possible “wealth taxes” and told Lineker’s podcast last week that the Government may need “to ask for a little more”.
Lineker, the former England striker turned television commentator, is among 120 wealthy signatories to a letter arguing that people like them should pay more in tax.
One proposal frequently discussed, including by former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, whom Mr Burnham has cited as an inspiration, is a 2 per cent annual charge on assets above £10million.
Critics among economists warn that such a policy may bring in far less than the tens of billions claimed by its advocates, while encouraging wealth to leave the UK, particularly as many high-net-worth individuals hold their money in businesses or investments rather than cash.
Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds said tax announcements would be made at the Autumn Budget when pressed over Left-wing demands for a raid on assets
Gary Lineker has joined 120 wealthy individuals signing a letter saying they should pay more tax
Asked on Sky News whether the Government would consider a ‘wealth tax’, Ms Reynolds said: ‘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.’
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Pressed if increasing capital gains tax was another possibility, Ms Reynolds said: ‘I’m not going to come on the programme today and make tax announcements.’
Lineker has added his name to a letter to the new PM organised by a group called Patriotic Millionaires UK, which states: ‘We are proud to pay and here to stay.’
The 65-year-old, estimated to be worth £30million after setting up one of Britain’s most successful podcast companies, 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.
‘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 to the letter include musician Brian Eno, crime writer Val McDermid and left-wing economist Gary Stevenson.
They told Mr Burnham that they do not want higher taxes on those who go to work every day, but instead ‘on the very richest whose income is derived from the wealth they hold’.
New PM Andy Burnham has hinted at ‘wealth taxes’ in the past, and last week gave Lineker an interview in which he warned the Government might need to ‘to ask for a little more’
The letter says that ‘extreme wealth sitting idle in the hands of a few’ should be used to reduce inequality and improve public services and concludes: ‘It’s time to tax us, the super rich.’
However, Kemi Badenoch said: ‘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’.
Tory MP Louie French said: ‘Virtue signallers assemble to bemoan they’re not paying enough tax, which they could pay more voluntarily but don’t.
‘Whilst in the real world wealth continues to flee Britain’s socialist Government.’
