Quote:
Originally Posted by Akrapovic
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. |
That piece is so disingenuous, it smacks of both envy and certainly bias. I only needed to read the first couple of sentences to know that it was highly misleading, so I stopped reading it.
Fact is that an agreement was reached that the Civil List, as it was then known as, was discontinued and in it's stead was created a new formula, which was that the Monarch would receive a fixed percentage of income generated by the Royal Family's businesses, including the Duchy of Cornwall and all the royal farms, etc. They also pay income tax on their income plus all other taxes that us mere mortals pay.
However, as far as Buck House is concerned, it belongs to the State, that's you and I, and not to the Royal Family. We, through our elected parliamentarians, agreed that the Palace would act as the London home, and head office as well, for the Monarch. Truth be known, Brenda doesn't even like staying in Buck House which is why she spends most of her time when not officiating in London in Windsor, which the Royal Family actually do own. As far as Buck House is concerned, it requires massive renovation work, and it was Parliament that decided that they need to spend those millions on protecting the UK's asset. I doubt that Her Maj actually cares very much, and Brian, assuming he accedes to the throne, has already stated that he doesn't wish to live in the place.
In a nutshell, the public purse is paying to protect a public asset.