Thoughts on the King and Prince of Wales tax disclosures

[Kirschcherries]

According to the BBC KC and PW have released details of the tax they paid in the 2024-2025 Tax Year.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8x2151y8q4o

Apparently KC is in the Top 100 tax payers - The Sunday Times Rich List for 2025 placed him at 238.

I think it’s good they have done this and believe they are entitled to use the same legal tax avoidance measures everyone else can use. I don’t think we have a right to know every detail of their personal wealth but this is balanced against transparency regarding the Sovereign Grant and Duchies.

I think this transparency is a good thing and I applaud the king for doing it.

Definitely need transparency, no idea if it’s correct but I’m sure lay people who know can at least be aware and do the maths

Royal finances definitely need more transparency and clarity in general. Releasing tax records is a good step. I'm sure they use every legal measure to lower their tax bills, as does everyone else who can afford accountants.

It's a good start that's for sure.

Very good Charles has done this. Being the cynic I am but I know this is because there is a review of the Sovereign Grant pending.
I hope William follows in his footsteps with some transparency

Did you even read the article?

Do you think they have done it to kinda show that tax is a good thing and important for society to function?

Yes thanks. And you?

I so agree with Norman Baker, why in god's name do ticket sales for BP go to the Family and not the Treasury? It's not as if they need the money. They are hugely wealthy, we have paid multi millions for the refurb over nearly 10 years, and yet the family reap the benefits of that by pocketing the ticket sales

Yeah great.

What about that piece of land near Wigan that belongs to the King and is covered in a giant amount of rubbish? Perhaps he could use the ticket sales for BP to fund the clean up 🙄 instead of trying to wheedle out of dealing with it.

He pays more tax than Amazon UK, who actually got a tax rebate, unbelievable.

King Charles: Paid £12.9 million in personal tax (derived voluntarily from his private income and assets) for the 2024–2025 financial year, making him one of the top 100 taxpayers in the UK. He has voluntarily contributed over £30 million in personal taxes since his accession to the throne. [1, 2, 3]
Amazon UK Services Ltd: Despite generating soaring revenues and profits (exceeding £355 million), Amazon's main UK corporate division did not pay any net corporation tax last year. It instead received a £7.6 million tax credit from HM Revenue and Customs due to infrastructure relief and prior period adjustments

Do they go to the family for their personal use or to the family to pay for maintenance and bills for Buckingham Palace the building? I don't know and I'm betting that it isn't clear.

This is why we really need clarity on royal finances, by which I mean the Sovereign Grant, Crown Estate and Royal Duchies, the way they are managed, whether the parameters under which they are administrated are still appropriate in the 21st century, who owns what and who oversees what etc It is really hard to have a proper discussion when things aren't clear.

I don't think the lack of clarity is deliberate so much as it is a result of decades of tweaking under different parties and in different times where society's expectations are concerned. It's complicated and complicated is hard for the press and social media, hence dramatic headlines and reductive articles.

Do they go to the family for their personal use or to the family to pay for maintenance and bills for Buckingham Palace the building? I don't know and I'm betting that it isn't clear.

If it was for maintenance there is no way it would be going back to the family surely....

It's an illusion of transparency.

Do they go to the family for their personal use or to the family to pay for maintenance and bills for Buckingham Palace the building? I don't know and I'm betting that it isn't clear quick google search

No. The entry fees to Buckingham Palace do not go directly to the royal family's private accounts. [1]
Ticket sales are collected by the Royal Collection Trust, a registered independent charity. This revenue is allocated to the following: [1]

• The Royal Collection: Funding the extensive conservation, restoration, and care of the Royal Collection of art and antiquities.
• Public Access: Operating and staffing public exhibitions, opening displays, and educational programs at palaces across the UK.
• Building Upkeep: Maintaining the specific areas of the palace and items on display for the public. [1, 2]

Separately, the broader maintenance and upkeep of Buckingham Palace are primarily funded by the Sovereign Grant, which is a percentage of the profits generated by the Crown Estate

After seeing how much they spend on travel I am leaning towards being disgusted, £20k per family to go to Balmoral, surely this should come out of their own pockets instead of being tax deductible, I can understand for state visits or anything for what can only be described as work purposes but Balmoral is a holiday, how many ordinary people can claim tax deductions for holidays?

Agree. It’s playing lip service. No real transparency- that would involve details of expenses and income sources and so much more.

Yes how is that tax deductable? On one hand we are always told that's their private residence that Queen Victoria ( despite being so skint she had to ask Parliament for more cash) paid for herself but they no the other hand them all going on a month's long holiday is tax deductable?

Doubt it. More like the Sovereign grant is up for renewal and they're trying to show how much they give back while troughing a giant increase in the Sovereign Grant over the last 3 years while the country is on its knees and they are billionnaires ( and while there are fewer of them doing less work)

Thanks for that, i forgot the Royal Collection in my list

When the King goes to Balmoral for the Summer he first spends Royal Week in Scotland based at Holyrood Palace. Maybe he claims that journey, which is work for him whether we agree or not, and it spun as claiming to go to his holiday home?

I don't know, but it highlights the problem of anyc financial discussion. With our current information the picture is too muddled and it's tempting to draw conclusions based on our existing opinions of the monarchy.

As so often, it is what we are not being told that is important. In the BBC article it says that we don't know what expenses that Charles has deducted to then give the amount - on which he subsequently pays tax.

Sorry - what are you saying here? That on the basis of no evidence whatsoever you think the King is taking part in tax evasion?

I am stating that we are not given details of how that tax has been calculated. You do not know how much is income tax? How much is capital gains tax?

@Serenster @BrandiedAromatics

There is no chance that the King will allow the detail of his accounts to be scrutinised by the public. Deductible expenses for tax purposes cover a huge range of different costs.

I don’t really think the amount of tax the King pays matters in the slightest. Whichever way you slice it, he is unimaginably wealthy. What is £13m in tax to a man like the King?

He will have a large team of administrators and accountants managing all this for him. I don’t suppose he dirties his hands too much with the details. He will be taking advice from his PR team on what to disclose to keep the public happy.

This is just smoke and mirrors. A sop to the public so he can appear transparent.

I recommend watching Channel 4s “Dispatches: The King, The Prince and their secret millions” - it is fascinating and reveals how immensely complex and shielded in secrecy Crown finances really are. Far too complex for a one page article on the BBCNews. Interestingly it explains about the abandoned Dartmoor Prison and the £1.5m annual rent that was being skimmed out of the public purse by Prince Charles. The programme is just full of these money-making historical arrangements.

It is inevitable. If we learned nothing in the last ten years, it is that wealth and power lead to more corruption and greed and in the worst cases, despicable and sickening waste and abuse.