The Rest Is... for the Treasury: Gary Lineker backs wealth tax for rich

City AM Published Jul 23, 2026 Reviewed Jul 25, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors

Gary Lineker’s podcasting company, Goalhanger, averaged 321 per cent annual growth over the three years prior to the article, making it the UK’s fastest-growing private company according to the Sunday Times 100.

321 % · annual growth rate

In 2024, Gary Lineker resolved a tax dispute with HMRC after the authorities initially demanded £4.9 million be paid over IR35 rules.

4900000 GBP · initial tax demand

Gary Lineker, the former England football player and podcaster, signed an open letter calling for a 2 per cent wealth tax on individuals with assets worth at least eight figures, alongside over 100 other millionaires.

2 % · wealth tax rateat least 100 people · millionaire signatories

Gary Lineker has urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a wealth tax on himself and other millionaires.

The former England football player, synonymous with crisps, is one of over 100 millionaires to sign an open letter to No 10 calling for a 2 per cent tax hike on people with assets worth at least eight figures.

The letter reads: “We want you to tax us. We can afford it.” Lineker added that “paying your fair share is a basic British value” and that “our richest people can do more and most want to”.

The letter, signed by the former Match of the Day host-turned Netflix star, comes as wealthy Brits brace for a major tax shake-up under Burnham, who has hinted at potential wealth taxes to fund a myriad of spending policies of which some are currently unfunded.

Lineker, who was one of the lucky few alongside Andrew Marr, Reddit users and TikTokers to grill the then incoming Prime Minister Burnham before his coronation, successfully concluded a tax spat with HMRC in 2024, with the authorities initially demanding a £4.9m sum be paid by the podcaster over IR35 rules.

He left the BBC in May 2025 following an antisemitism row and ditched initial plans to front World Cup coverage for the public service broadcaster to instead host a daily edition of his podcast The Rest is Football. Streaming giant Netflix then extended its agreement with the former Leicester City centre-forward to cover the Premier League over the next two seasons.

Lineker added: “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,” the sports pundit and former footballer added.

“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.”

His podcasting empire, Goalhanger, became the UK’s fastest-growing private company, according to the Sunday Times 100, averaging 321 per cent in annual growth over the last three years. Its “The Rest Is” portfolio includes: entertainment with Richard Osman and Marina Hyde; politics with Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell; and history with Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.

The letter added: “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.”

One City figure told CityAM that “much like the title of his podcasting rival, Lineker should simply Stick to Football.”

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