Top Gear legend James May opposes UK super rich ‘wealth tax’

The TV star hosted the BBC motoring show from 2003 until 2015 before moving on to Prime Video’s The Grand Tour until 2024.

Both shows saw him present alongside Richard Hammond and Oxfordshire farmer Jeremy Clarkson, who owns both Diddly Squat Farm, between Chipping Norton and Chadlington, and The Farmer’s Dog pub near Burford.

The 63-year-old was in Oxford last year with his live theatre show, Explorers: The Age of Discovery, which he performed for one night only at the New Theatre.

READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson slammed by Animal Aid who claim ‘Diddly Squat is not reality’

When asked on LBC radio whether he agreed with Gary Lineker’s position in the “Proud to Pay” letter, 63‑year‑old Mr May replied: “No.”

Presenter Tom Swarbrick pressed him to explain, and Mr May said: “I already pay loads of tax. Am I supposed to volunteer to pay some more?”

Mr Swarbrick pointed out that it is possible to hand over extra money to the taxman, telling him: “Well, you can do, of course. You can pay whatever you like to HMRC.”

Mr May responded: “You absolutely can. You could pay your whole income to HMRC if you like. And those people who say, I’d 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.”

READ MORE: Aston Martin handed Christian Horner warning ahead of signing F1 legend

Mr Swarbrick then asked: “So you don’t feel that there is a patriotic argument for millionaires to pay more in tax, however that is defined or alighted upon?”

And Mr May replied: “I mean, wealthier people already pay more tax. The rate increases, and it’s a greater absolute amount as well if you have more income.”

Mr Burnham, who became prime minister this month, has refused to rule out a wealth tax, saying in an interview with Lineker that his government may ‘ask for a little more’ from those who can afford it.

Mr May’s comments come after the TV presenter flunked a driving test retake in Salisbury, more than four decades after he first passed.

READ MORE: Liam Gallagher gives insight into life at new £4.25m Cotswolds mansion

A video posted on YouTube channels The Passenger Seat and James May’s Planet Gin shows the TV star head out on the roads to sit the current version of the test in a dual-control car with an instructor.

The mock examination was conducted from Salisbury Driving Test Centre, near where Mr May owns The Royal Oak pub, as well as where he resides.

Mr May followed official test routes as if he were a learner, and despite already holding a full licence, revealed he wanted to compare the modern assessment to his original in 1980.

“Now, I do of course already have a licence. It was 1980 when I last took a test, and things have moved on a lot since then; the test is apparently very different,” he said.

READ MORE: TV legend, 91, to open landmark event after ‘joy’ at retirement home

“I haven’t revised for it. I haven’t learned anything about it. I’m just going to do it and see if I can pass.”

During the test, he was clocked at 46mph in a 40mph zone and 33mph in a 30mph area, with the speeding offences enough on their own to constitute an automatic fail.

Despite the unsuccessful outcome, Mr May laughed off the result, treating it as an experiment rather than a serious setback, and thanked viewers for joining him on the ride.

He rounded off the video with a wry sign-off: “Do as I say, not as I do.”