British media survey: The royal family is the largest “charterer” in the UK – Today’s Headlines – Mobile Guangming.com
Is the King of England the biggest “charterer”? According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) disclosure on the 3rd, the British royal family has huge leases with multiple government departments and public institutions, and tens of millions of pounds can be earned every year by leasing the royal family’s private properties. Although no “illegal profit” plot has been found so far, this plot of “cunningly taking” from taxpayers in disguise without paying commercial taxes has still touched the sensitive nerves of the people and caused fierce controversy online. Some netizens sarcastically said, “No wonder the NHS (British National Health Service) is so poor.”
An investigation jointly conducted by the British “Sunday Times” and other media found that the British royal duchies – “The Duchy of Lancaster” and the “Duchy of Cornwall” have leasing cooperation with various governments and public departments: for example, The British Ministry of Justice has leased a men’s prison in Devon from the Duchy of Cornwall on a 25-year lease with a contract value of £37 million; the NHS Foundation has leased a warehouse in central London from the Duchy of Lancaster. , used to park ambulances, the lease is worth £11.4 million and is valid for 15 years. In addition, even some public schools and local councils have to “pay rent” to the royal family. It is understood that the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, and members of the royal family still retain their titles and fiefdoms from the feudal era. The Principality of Lancaster and the Principality of Cornwall belong to King Charles III (Duke of Lancaster) and his eldest son William ( Duke of Cornwall). Today, the two “principals” are more like private land trusts for the royal family, but the privileges enjoyed by the two institutions are far beyond those of other commercial entities. The industries they control are spread across England and Wales, including large tracts of land, farmland, monuments and commercial facilities. The above-mentioned leasing cooperation is only the “tip of the iceberg” of the royal family’s business cooperation.
According to the British “Daily Telegraph”, the two institutions in Lancaster and Cornwall have signed a total of 5,400 lease contracts, bringing annual income to Charles and William of more than 50 million pounds. . It is worth mentioning that the two territories are also independent of the Crown Estate and do not need to pay any corporate income tax. In addition, their leases with public sectors such as the NHS have never been disclosed to parliament. In response to external doubts, the two institutions have responded separately, saying that the nature of their institutions is similar to that of a “commercial company”, but at the same time emphasizing that their daily operations “comply with all British legal and regulatory standards.” In the past few days, this controversy has triggered doubts among the British government and opposition parties. British Labor Party member of the House of Lords Margaret Hodge said that the response of the institutions involved was contradictory – they claimed that this was a “commercial activity” but did not pay taxes. She criticized: “They cannot take advantage of both ends. If they are private companies, they should pay taxes fairly.”
On social media, British netizens were even more quarrelsome. A “high praise” comment in the British “Daily Mail” said: “Ordinary British families have to pay taxes when inheriting real estate, but the king is sitting on such a huge property and can get nothing. It is really difficult to get up at 6 o’clock in the morning to work hard. “The Sunday Times” commented on the 4th that it is not impossible for the royal family to make some “extra money”, but a king who often talks about “social responsibility” openly takes money from hospitals, military, prisons and firefighters. With money in hand, even those British people who support the monarchy will feel at a loss.
source: global times
2024-11-05 08:43:33
