PDA

View Full Version : Crown Estate makes record £304m Treasury payout



-:Undertaker:-
28-06-2016, 11:56 AM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36643314

Crown Estate makes record £304m Treasury payout

The Crown Estate, the property of the monarch, makes record £304m payout to the Treasury. Under a deal made by then-poor King George III, in return for a fixed income from the government the proceeds of the then-loss making Crown Estate is handed to the Treasury



http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/AFP_Getty-145722886.jpg


The Crown Estate has delivered a record £304.1m to the Treasury after the value of its portfolio rose 9.7% to £12bn.

The payout by the estate, which owns London's Regent Street and the entire UK seabed, was up from £285m.

It comes ahead of a review of the Sovereign Grant - taxpayers' money given to the Queen by the Treasury.

This year the Queen received a grant of nearly £43m, currently calculated as 15% of the Crown Estate's profits.

The Sovereign Grant, which is paid two years in arrears, is reviewed every five years.

In the coming months, the government and a senior royal official will carry out a review of the grant, which was set at 15% in 2012.

If the formula is unchanged, the grant will rise to more than £45m next year, up from £31m in 2012.

During a briefing to launch the report, Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, highlighted the large amount of funds spent on the upkeep of royal palaces.

Spending on property maintenance was up close to 40% on the previous year, he said, yet the condition of the estate was deteriorating at a faster rate than they have been able to respond to.

Sir Alan said a "significant amount" of the rise in this year's Sovereign Grant of £42.8m would be used to tackle the backlog in essential maintenance.

BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said it was now unlikely - as had been suggested last year after the publication of the Sovereign Grant's annual report - that the Queen would have to vacate Buckingham Palace during refurbishment.

More good news.

Back when King George III agreed to hand over any profits the Crown Estate made in return for a fixed income from the government, the Crown Estate did not make a profit. Now however, the profits from the estate of the monarch have been rising. It's been suggested and I am sure I have read that Prince Charles is keen on the idea, that the Crown Estate profits should be kept by the monarchy but the fixed income from the government ended: that way an end to the criticism that the Royal Household has from some that they're funded by the taxpayer would be solved as it would become self-funding.

Thoughts?

scottish
28-06-2016, 12:33 PM
Lmao, so now its making money they want it back?

I assume the profits are higher than the fixed income they gain?

-:Undertaker:-
28-06-2016, 12:49 PM
Lmao, so now its making money they want it back?

I assume the profits are higher than the fixed income they gain?

If the income from the estate were returned then the monarchy would become self-funding which would end all the disputes and claims over costs. A lot of the Palaces require a lot of structural work, especially Buckingham Palace, and politically it isn't a good move just after a recession to be seen renovating Palaces. If the old deal is ended, then there would be no more "monarchy taxpayers blah blah bla" and would neutralise the campaign group Republic prior to the next succession and Coronation - of which will require funding for huge public events, new Crowns, robes, ceremonies, statues and so on.

And yes the profits are much higher than the fixed income now.

FlyingJesus
28-06-2016, 02:58 PM
Wouldn't it all be much easier to just say that X% of the profits from the Crown Estate should go to the treasury rather than all the admin of sending it all over and calculating an amount to return to the family? I mean they're essentially paying 85% tax so why not just call it that to save effort and shut up the republicans who claim they're somehow a drain on funds

Want to hide these adverts? Register an account for free!