Royals took more than £1bn income

[ladykale]

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-interactive/2023/apr/05/revealed-royals-took-more-than-1bn-income-from-controversial-estates-king-charles-queen-duchies-cornwall-lancaster

I just don't understand how high earners are taxed to death in this country and the average population still wants them to pay more and more tax, yet most are in favour of the Royal Familh whose income increased x16 during the Queen's reign and they took £1bn of income,

I don't know how they've successfully brainwashed the people of britain to continue supporting them.

I find it so ridiculous.

Yes I know. I got from the other poster that she thought the duchies are part of the crown estate but maybe I misunderstood? Don’t think so though as sovereign grant was mentioned. I’m sorry I am so tired as my DH is sick and I’m no good when I’m tired!

These figuresJust £1m of the king’s income would buy five AgeUK day centres, reopening ones shut by austerity. Or it could train 250 early years educators for nurseries, says the Early Years Alliance. Just one of his millions would pay for 25,000 GP appointments, says the King’s Fund. The annual public funding for the royals would pay for 30 hours of childcare per week for almost 13,000 three- and four-year-olds for a year, says the IFS. The king is paid more than the cost of all London’s street lighting. That £1.2bn from the Duchies would pay for 30,000 nurses for a year. Money spent on the monarchy seems a lot or a little depending on whether you think one king is worth more than 4,000 teachers.

Polly Toynbee wrote this? It doesn't surprise me. Are we sayng the govt doesn't have £1m to pay for 25,000 gp appointments? They do. They just don't have enough gps to cover an extra 25,000 appointments.
And where does she get the £1.2b from? And once they spent that, how are they going to pay the nurses the following year? Or will they just all be sacked?
I love the royal family but I've never had a problem with republicans having a serious debate. But this is just facile tosh with no depth.

Oh, I'm sorry your husband's not well. My mum has dementia so I understand how caring for someone can make you so tired. Hope he feels better soon. I don't always (hardly ever 😉 😁 ) agree with you but I do always enjoy reading your opinions. So here's to a good night's sleep and coming back refreshed. x

According to Michael Gove Charles is like Hitler !

@MarshaMelrose what a lovely message, thank you so much. He’s only temporarily unwell thankfully but nobody is getting much sleep! Sorry to hear about your Mum, dementia is so hard to deal with and I hope you are making sure you get time to yourself. Who cares if we agree, ever! I disagree with my DH all the time and we’re still going strong after 30 years! I think despite our differences on this board or any other, most of us are almost certainly really nice people. Have a good evening and thanks again.

Michael Gove is a dick.

I think this article sets out quite clearly what we don't know.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/05/how-the-british-royal-family-hides-its-wealth-from-public-scrutiny?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The Guardian will not give up in working on more transparency. Sorely needed.

This article will be updated as they discover more. It is 'The Cost Of The Crown'

Wow, just started reading that. It’s a series!

It took our colleague Rob Evans 10 years and a trip to the supreme court to secure the release under FoI of Prince Charles’s “black spider memos”, which showed how the heir to the throne lobbied senior government ministers on everything from badger culling to alternative herbal medicines. The government spent more than £400,000 on legal costs in an ultimately failed bid to keep the memos secret.

In the coming weeks, the Cost of the crown series will ask challenging questions of the new king. Questions about the personal enrichment of his family, and the extent to which they have profited from their public roles. Questions about the dubious origins of some of their wealth. And questions about whether the public is getting value for money for the record sums it gives over each year to fund the Windsors and their lavish lifestyle.
Buckingham Palace argues that the financial arrangements of royals should “remain private, as they would for any other individual”. But the mist that shrouds such questions comes from the confusion over what can legitimately be called the royals’ private wealth, what belongs to the British people, and what, as so often is the case, ambiguously straddles the two.
These are not easy topics for King Charles to confront. He may prefer that we were not raising them on the eve of his coronation. But we believe the time is right.

Yes, it’s well past time!

Oh indeed it is @Whaeanui (p.s. I hope your DH is on the mend soon)

I cannot imagine why some posters on here imagine that the royal finances are in any way transparent. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If it were transparent there wouldn't be countless FOI requests by the Guardian would there...
There would be no need.

In the article, there are countless questions being asked. And they will perservere to cut through the opacity

@Roussette oh thanks, he’s a terrible sick person and I already have chronic illness plus one of the kids is back home also with somewhat unexplained illness so everyone is soooo tired!

This might be an interesting series! Not for Charles though!!

Oh crikey, that does sound exhausting

One of the 'one rule for them' that does my head in, are the sealed Wills. I think it is very wrong. No other person can seal their Will for 90 years like that.

Apparently, you can apply to seal your Will but the process is really lengthy and hugely costly and normally gets refused.

For it to come about because Queen Mary wanted it when her brother left some jewels to someone he was having an affair with... and that law still stands is ridiculous.

Also the security costs. I cannot for the life of me imagine how putting a figure on this compromises them.

Correct. The National Trust owns the most agricultural land/farms in the U.K. and as it’s a charity they pay no corporation tax.

Don’t be daft FOI requests are to the Government regarding Government operations/finances/data. You can’t FOI for your Nan’s uncles cousins roommates personal finances just like you can’t FOI for the RF personal finances.

I agree regarding wills @Roussette I did my family tree and found all my grandparents wills online in NZ on the archives. One of my DHs grandparents we couldn’t see, not sure why. But also I find the inheritance tax thing really unfair. I hate the tax anyway, so it’s annoying they don’t pay but we do

Gosh you're polite 😳

Yes the RF are exempt from the FOI act

And so are you exempt from the FOI act and so am I exempt from the FOI Act as is every other person living in the U.K.

Most of them do pay inheritance tax though. The only exemption is monarch to monarch. That’s just 1 member of the royal family exempt per generation.

Bump that up against tens of thousands of rich families where they are all exempt because their deceased put all their money in Singapore or other tax shelters or put it all in a trust fund. There are so many ways to avoid inheritance tax. Even regular people can do it as the thread on here about the parents signing over their house to their kid as a gift ten years before they died would indicate.

The RF can’t get away with it though like the rest of us can as they are under a microscope.

@L3ThirtySeven you’re quite right, it’s just monarch to monarch. It’s a shit tonne of missed tax. The fact others do it doesn’t make it right. I would just completely do away with it for everyone! We have already paid tax on it!

It is a lot of missed tax and you’re correct, the fact almost anyone can dodge inheritance tax doesn’t make it the right thing to do. The RF are not saints, they are regular rich folk.

It works for them obviously, if you read the article in full.

Works for you too. You forget the RF are also private citizens and like any other private citizen they have the human right to privacy. We have no right to see into their private matters any more than we have the right to pick over your private accounts.

@L3ThirtySeven The RF are not saints, they are regular rich folk. I guess that’s my problem, I’m so not that, I just can’t get my head around it all. To have such wealth while others work minimum wage on their feet all day barely getting by… not my personal idea of a fair and just society.

Don’t be daft FOI requests are to the Government regarding Government operations/finances/data. True. Is there an argument that the head of state should be subject to it also? I guess that’s personal opinion.