To think the royal family should pay proper tax?

[marmaladeandpeanutbutter]

I think the RF should pay corporation, capital gain tax and personal tax, like every other family and company.

I was watching the channel 4 Despatches programme tonight, and was so astounded I
rewound and took notes. Yes, I should get out more! But in case you didn't watch it:

◦	£132 million is to be paid by government (ie tax payers )  to the Royal Family in 2025

◦	The RF also have extensive land estates (Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster). 

◦	How the RF make their millions has been kept secret from us and parliament for centuries

◦	Over 5000 of their undeclared properties were discovered by Channel 4 despatches. 

◦	We pay, for example £1.5  million for Dartmoor prison every year, although it’s empty and not usable because of radon gas. We must also pay for any repairs

◦	The RF say they aren’t funded by the tax payer, but channel 4 says that in fact they are, and that they make many millions from us.

◦	Several state schools have to pay the family rent

◦	The family charge us for training our own troops to defend our country on their land. Despite the King being the head of the armed forces, they are cashing in. They refuse to say how much they charge.  They even charge for use of jetties on their shores, eg from where naval vessels set sail

◦	Even the NHS is  not exempt-they say they are “helping the NHS”  . Yes, but it turns out that it is by renting out land eg at Guys and St Thomases for lucrative amounts. All free of corporation tax, naturally, unlike any other company.

◦	Even some local charities and community groups pay them, all the while the RF is promoting them.: “Millions of pounds in rent”, including for MacMillan and Comic relief, of which the former has earned the RF £22 million. 

◦	They have new mining interests, often at odds with environmental campaigners, with potential risks to land, water and animals . 

◦	Many of the homes they rent out are amongst the lowest 14% in the uk in  terms of condition eg mould, cracks, no insulation. They say it “may not be feasible” to comply with UK environmental legislation, even though all other landlords must.

All whilst exempt from the corporation or capital gains tax paid by every other company. They pay some income tax, but they won’t divulge details.

The greed is shocking and breathtaking. I don’t want to hear another word on helping the environment, fixing the climate or eradicating homelessness from their mouths.

No wonder they are so astoundingly, breathtakingly rich.

I think this programme will become a big talking point in coming days.

I'm not much of a royalist but I do think most people aren't bothered either way tbh , whatever their age

How much difference would it make?.. Maybe their "taxes" should go to something very spefic instead.

I'm not sure what but for instance a new hospital for school near every castle?? Fully funded and set up by their money?

And it's public but their taxes instead go to keep these places running?there wouldn't be that many, Balmoral, maybe it's rural and they need something different there?
High Grove again maybe different investments locally, Windsor, definitely school and hospital, etc etc

Available until 2nd December.

This is exactly the kind of argument the royals make for why they're not paying the same taxes everyone else has to—oh, we're investing in our local areas (vague "environmental" projects mostly). How pleasant for them to have the extra cash to make their own property nicer, while cosplaying the benevolent feudal landlord. Christ, you can just picture the Queen Camilla Hospital—Charles would insist on some god awful Neo-Classical pile.

They should open the books, be properly audited, and pay the same bloody taxes everyone else does. Then the government that we've elected can decide how the money is spent, accountably.

Or they can just hand over these duchies and have done with it.

I was shocked to find how many millions they make from charities, renting spaces out to the NHS and Stare schools,

PARASITES

The late Queen agreed to pay more tax years ago or something ( sorry , im a bit vague on the actual details ) but I will try and watch the dispatches programme before it disappears
None of it surprises me though . They have good accountants / lawyers etc I suppose and can get around things.
Any referendum on them would be as close as Brexit was, but I doubt that will happen any time soon.
( Rexit ?)

She agreed to start paying tax on a voluntary basis (i.e. she could also decide to stop) after decades of not oaying anything as a result of public outcry at getting the public to pay for repairs after the Windsor Castle fire. In exchange she had a nice cosy conversation with John Major who kindly agreed to exempt her family from inheritance tax. Nice work if you can get it.

Oh Bugger, Looks like I've been rumbled...

Mind you, it's taken some time. Guffaw, guffaw.

They are a bunch of chancers IMHO, who know when they're on to a good thing. .All dressed up by the media as everybody's favourite folk.

Most people i know can't stand any of them!

I'd like to watch this but can find it - have you a link please?

They do pay tax albeit voluntarily

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64b954a506f78d000d742644/MemorandumoffUnderstandingonnRoyalTaxation0088_.pdf

It's quite complicated but I do know someone who is involved in this professionally and said private income is taxed just like us as well.

The fact that it's not in the public domain seems to anger people but taxation is private for everyone. They do pay far more than many mega rich who use off shore funds and trusts to avoid tax.

I'm not defending the current arrangements per se but I think a lot of the posters here aren't aware of these arrangements

They pay some taxes voluntarily. They don't pay others at all. Charles paid no inheritance tax.

Incorrect I’m afraid , or rather misleading ( you see this partial information from royalists a great deal on the royal boards- just one of many reasons to avoid them )

Charles does not pay inheritance tax , capital gains tax or corporation tax - this is relevant to the Duchys as they are red in tooth and claw capitalism as we have seen. But Charles says it isn’t capitalism and it’s none our business
The small amount of income tax he pays is not only voluntary but he decides how much he’ll pay - I’ve seen it estimated at around 25 %

You mention offshore accounts - you do know that Elizabeth Windsor was revealed to use off shore accounts?
The royals are publically funded they should be happy to obey all laws including tax law .
But they arent and they don’t
Greedy lazy grifters

Sorry my post was to @mitogoshigg

Oh and the accounts they publish on the Duchy did not satisfy a select committee in the House of Commons who wanted proper scrutiny and oversight
Nothing changed

I’d like to make one further point .
We all know that , despite the name , the Crown estates belong to the public . They were handed over in 1760 I think in exchange for bailing out a bankrupt king .

The Duchys were not handed over along with all the rest of the holdings as they were overlooked due to being almost worthless at the time .
There was an attempt by the Treasury 1897 to correct this anomaly and have the Duchys moved to the crown estates .
( thanks to Norman Baker for refreshing my memory on this on LBC )
Clearly this now needs to done as a matter of urgency .

If the Windsors had an ounce of genuine feeling or even the intelligence to see where this is going they would offer to do this themselves , voluntarily .
Instead William has reversed his father’s practice of publishing ( limited) accounts . William decided not to publish the accounts at all.

Yes, it’s very very outdated concept. They should pay taxes and they should give their land and other assets back, it’s not theirs

It's still available on channel 4 App. It's called The King, The Prince and Their Secret Millions.

What can we actually do to force a change? Has one of those petitions been started for our collective outrage to be discussed in parliament??

Bear in mind they've only been Windsors since 1917, the Saxe Coburg name was changed to a more British name.
Old Charlie getting £500m tax free, whilst his tenants live in shitty snap mouldy houses.

It's available on channel 4 App. It's called The King, The Prince and Their Secret Millions.

They pay what they wish to declare though. So you're wrong in saying they pay the same as us. We don't get to choose what we want to declare.

It's absolutely disgusting - if the royal family loves this country at all they can show it by putting their money where their mouths are and pay taxes like the rest of it. Prince Charles would only need to pick up the telephone to one of his minions and it would be done in an instant. I find the servile attitude of a lot of British people towards them utterly embarrassing. We should be rioting in the streets about this and instead you've got people greedily lapping up their photoshoots etc. Awful.

Taxation is not private—anyone can be audited, except the Royals. They're about 700 years overdue a thorough audit.