Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Harte
And contrary to popular opinion, the Royals no longer get paid by the British taxpayers; well, certainly not in a direct fashion. They are paid a fixed percentage of the taxed income generated by their estates and businesses, most of which are very profitable. So for example, the more visitors that go to Buck House, so the Royals get paid more. However, it must be noted that in the last audited figures for 2015, the Royals had a really successful year and so received a bumper pay-out, some of which was actually returned unspent to the Treasury at the year end.
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You'll have to excuse my ignorance on the subject - I generally know very little about the Royals, and certainly not as much as you know!
But isn't it a lot more complex than that? Didn't the Queen get a massive
pay rise, which essentially means less of that money goes to the government, to fund a refurbishment? (not a great source, granted!) Being able to manipulate your own tax rate like that (and therefore what you contribute to the government) seems a bit iffy.
I'm not anti-monarchy (or pro, I'm not that fussed really - it seems harmless and kinda nice and historical to me), but I imagine if I stopped paying the government set taxes that I have to pay, and used that money to paint my living room, I'd have a court date pretty soon. Normally I'm not fussed what the family are up to, but that one did raise an eyebrow here.