Palace work is justified

Since George III, the British monarch always surrenders the profits from their own businesses, called the Crown Estate, to the government. The Crown Estate is mainly a collection of properties in London and extensive agricultural land across the country. The monarch was always given a small sum of this money back to cover the costs of state events, such as royal tours abroad.

In 2012, this change when the Sovereign Grant was created. This effectively meant that The Queen paid 85% tax on her income. She received just 15% of the profits from her own businesses to fund the Royal Family’s work. This makes The Queen the most taxed person on earth. The Buckingham Palace repairs will be funded by a temporary increase in the Sovereign Grant. Instead of paying 85% tax, The Queen will now pay 75% tax. The public will not pay anything whatsoever to The Queen for the renovation, but they will benefit from a huge sum of money, paid by Britain most generous taxpayer, to help with their failing public services.

This 10% increase in the money will be put to extraordinarily good use for the British taxpayer. Buckingham Palace draws masses of tourists each year to spend their cash in the UK. Put against the £4billion repairs for the Houses of Parliament, funded by the taxpayer, this is a remarkably good deal. The British public will benefit from this wonderful Palace without having to contribute a penny towards its maintenance. Mr Hepplewhite asks if the Government would bail him out for repairs to his house. Perhaps it would if he paid 75% tax on his income.

Alan Wright,

Chairman,

Sunderland Conservatives,