James May rejects wealth tax as millionaires beg Burnham to tax them

James May has become an unlikely dissenter in the row over taxing Britain’s richest, breaking with the 120 UK millionaires, Gary Lineker among them, who have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to raise taxes on wealth like theirs.

The former Top Gear presenter told LBC he “already pays loads of tax” and that anyone keen to hand over more can simply do so. It is a spat with real stakes for smaller firms, because the campaign the millionaires are backing pitches their fortunes as a funding stream for exactly the things SMEs say they lack.

In its “Proud to Pay” letter, Patriotic Millionaires UK argues that a 2 per cent tax on wealth over £10 million could raise £24 billion a year, with reforms to capital gains tax raising a further £12 billion. The signatories say the money could go towards “supporting entrepreneurs with the skills and infrastructure they need, and giving small businesses access to affordable finance.”

That last line is the one owner-managers will notice. Access to affordable finance has been the missing rung for growing firms for years, and the wider campaign Lineker is fronting explicitly frames idle wealth as the way to fund it.

May is not convinced. Asked on LBC whether he agreed with the letter, he said “No.” Pressed by presenter Tom Swarbrick, he replied: “I already pay loads of tax. Am I supposed to volunteer to pay some more?”

He went on: “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.”

He also argued the wealthy already carry more of the load: “wealthier people already pay more tax. The rate increases and it’s a greater absolute amount as well if you have more income.”

On the technical point, May is right that the door is open. The Treasury and the Debt Management Office’s Donations and Bequests Account exist precisely so public-spirited citizens can hand money to the state, though the account took barely £2,000 in a recent year.

Lineker framed the ask as patriotism. “Paying your fair share is a basic British value, but so many ordinary people are already paying more than they can afford,” he said, adding that the government “must raise taxes on extreme levels of wealth for a fairer, better, more hopeful Britain.”

The government is keeping its options open. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds welcomed the offer but stopped short of committing: “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.” Any major tax changes, she said, “would be announced at a budget.”

For business, the sharpest counter came from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who warned against driving away job creators. “We are seeing the people who create jobs leaving the country,” she said. “If we keep taxing the people who create the jobs, who generate the growth, we’re not going to have any taxes at all.”

That worry is not abstract for the SME ecosystem. Founders and investors have already lobbied the Treasury over capital gains tax, warning that higher rates could blunt the incentive to build and back British companies.

So owner-managers are left watching a stand-off between two camps of the wealthy: one offering to bankroll the very support small firms keep asking for, the other warning the bill will ultimately land on the businesses that generate the growth. As with so much else this year, the answer waits for the budget.