Prince Charles paid £3.3 million tax last year |
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Published
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Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:05
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LONDON - The Prince of Wales revealed his tax bill today for the first time and the balance sheet does make for pretty reading. It showed that the Prince paid £3.3 million to the Exchequer on the £14 million profits derived from the estates of the Duchy of Cornwall.
Previously the Prince's advisers had declined to reveal his income or his tax payments, but Sir Michael Peat, his private secretary said that this time they wanted to reveal all for the purpose of transparency. The royal household released a full color 56-page booklet to showcase the Prince's various activities and how he is what the country needs to look up to. The booklet revealed that Charles had given up polo last year in keeping with environmental concerns. The document also reveals that bricks are placed in the cisterns at Highgrove and Clarence House so as to conserve water from flushing.
Sir Michael Peat also went on to add that each member of the Prince's household costs the taxpayer the 3.5p per year. Also the Duchess of Cornwall costs the taxpayer £2,000 only, he claimed. "She lives in houses that are already there, she travels with the prince and I think there have only been three occasions when she has traveled on aircraft on her own, at a cost of around £2,000."
Around £6.6 million of the £14.1 million the prince made last year went in paying "official costs". Of these the staff cost £4.4 million last year, up from £3.8 million a year before.
Peat said that the staff was less than what they had at the Buckingham Palace, "We have about a fifth of the staff, and we do more engagements and entertain the same number of people," he said. "In terms of staff, we're actually very lean. Our staff numbers are right at the bottom". The document also showed that the Prince graced 642 ceremonies last year and wrote 2,247 letters.
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