Charles' Tax Avoidance Questioned
Coco
Unlike us poor saps, the Windsors get to decide how much tax they pay,
and whether they actually want to pay any tax at all.
For example the Queen wasn't required to pay inheritance tax on the
Queen Mother's estate, and the will was made private (wills are
normally public documents) so no one outside the Royal family knows how
much tax was avoided.
The Queen volunteers to pay some income tax (after a generous deduction
of expenses naturally - roast swan isn't cheap).
Charles' income derives from the Duchy of Cornwall. It (like the Duchy
of Lancaster that creates income for the Queen) is exempt from both
corporate and capital gains tax. No one is quite sure why.
Charles voluntarily agrees to pay some tax on this income (to stop the
peasants revolting one assumes). However, since the accounts are closed
(unlike every normal business in the UK that has to submit accounts to
the taxman) its not clear exactly how much tax is being avoided by
these exemptions.
Next time you get your payslip and see the large chunk the government
has taken out of it, or have to pay a large inheritance tax bill on a
deceased relative's estate, at least you can console yourself with the
thought that part of these taxes are being used to support the Windsors
living in their numerous homes. And that the Windsors are exempt from
the taxes you have to pay.
MPs angry at confidential royal will and tax deal
Stephen Bates
The Guardian
Labour MPs reacted with fury to Buckingham Palace's admission that the
Queen Mother's will, detailing the disposal of an estate valued at
between £50-70m, will not be published.
The decision follows a private application made to the high court for
the will to be sealed - an application open to anyone - which has
already been granted.
The move would have been a formality and was not publicised. Although
there are no recent precedents, the will of the last queen consort,
Queen Mary, widow of George V, who died in 1953, was also not
published, though that of Princess Diana, who had left the royal family
at the time of her death in 1997, was.
The palace confirmed that the Queen will not pay inheritance tax on her
mother's estate following a so-called "sovereign to sovereign" deal
concluded by the Queen with the Major government nine years ago, when
she agreed to pay income tax. At that time MPs claim they were denied
information about the nature of the deal by ministers.
A palace spokeswoman said: "There is an understanding that the
sovereign should not pay inheritance duty on property bequeathed by the
consort of a former sovereign.
"This arises because the sovereign must have an appropriate degree of
financial independence to be constitutionally impartial. It is also a
recognition that the sovereign does not have the opportunity to earn a
living through taking a job."
Any property bequeathed by the Queen Mother, who died at the age of 101
at the end of March 2002, to other members of the royal family, will be
subject to inheritance tax. But a £19m trust fund apparently set up by
the Queen Mother for the benefit of her great grandchildren - a
procedure open to the public - also appears to have escaped death
duties because she lived for more than seven years after it was set up
in 1994.
Although some of the Queen Mother's property cannot be disposed of,
such as her main residences which are being parcelled out to her
grandchildren, other possessions, including much of her jewellery and
art collection, were privately owned.
The Queen Mother's paintings are thought to be worth at least £36m.
They include a Monet, bought in 1945 for £2,000, now valued at £15m,
as well as works by Augustus John, Graham Sutherland, John Piper and LS
Lowry.
Her private home, the Castle of Mey, with its 1,800 acre estate near
John O'Groats, bought cheaply when derelict in the early 1950s with
money bequeathed by her husband George VI, was made over to a
charitable trust in 1996.
Paul Flynn, Labour backbencher and veteran republican, said yesterday:
"If some of the richest people in the country can avoid inheritance
tax, why not the butcher or baker, or anyone on a lower income than the
royal family? Anyone who owns a house in London these days will be
liable to have inheritance tax levied on their estate. This bullshit
must end.
"In 1993 we tried to discover the details of the Queen's agreement on
tax but the government then said it was confidential, like anyone
else's tax bill. But the point is that tax bands are known."
Alan Williams, an MP on the Commons public accounts committee, said:
"There should be transparency. The Queen Mother, whose family has
benefited from the most remarkable deal on taxation in decades, should
be treated the same as everyone else."
Breton
Coco wrote:
>>
> MPs angry at confidential royal will and tax deal
> Stephen Bates
> The Guardian
>
(yawn)
If you werer British you'd know that
(a) Labour MPs always react with fury on RF issues. It's in their DNA
and required to pass muster as a Labour candidate in the elections.
(b) The Guardian will always print anything any Labour MP says under
(a) above.
Breton
Morgana
As usual one law for those who think their sh1t don't stink and one for
us "plebs". Revolution now!