There’s nothing stopping Gary Lineker from paying more tax

There are bus fares to pay for, a rates cut for the pubs, and of course extra shelters for the homeless. In the few days since he became prime minister, Andy Burnham has announced a whole series of small increases in spending, while saying very little about how he is going to pay for them.

But is Gary Lineker riding to the rescue? Today the football pundit has offered to help out with a demand that he pays higher taxes. But here’s the catch: there is already nothing to stop Lineker paying more tax – he just doesn’t seem very keen to actually write out the cheque.

Lineker was one of 120 ‘patriotic millionaires’, including the musician Brian Eno and the romcom writer Richard Curtis, who have written an open letter asking for some form of wealth tax. According to the letter, the super-rich are more than happy to contribute more to the government. It would, they believe, lead to better public services, as well as creating a more equal society.

The trouble is, these millionaires all seem very reluctant to put their money where their mouth is. It is already possible to contribute extra money to HMRC if you feel your tax bill is not high enough. In the past decade, just 62 people decided to chip in a little more, with a total contribution of just £2.3 million between them. We don’t know who they are. But it is obvious not all the patriots were feeling quite patriotic enough to make an extra payment.

Likewise Lineker himself seems less keen on paying his own taxes than demanding others pay more. In 2024, he settled a long-running case with HMRC over his own affairs and, fortunately for him, saving close to £5 million in the process. And yet surely he could have patriotically told his barrister at any point to drop the matter? He would have been able to pay more, as well as setting a great example for others to follow.

The campaign from these ‘patriotic millionaires’ is the worst kind of celebrity virtue signalling. A generously paid group of personalities get to lecture everyone else on how noble they are while running virtually no risk of ever actually having to dip into their own wallets. If any of them had made a voluntary contribution then we could start taking them seriously. Until then, it is just hypocrisy – and Lineker and the rest of his group are just making themselves look ridiculous.