King Charles hopes to give “clarity and accessibility” about Royal finances after a polls show just 55% of people now support even the idea of a Royal Family
King Charles hopes that revealing his tax spend will quell the dwindling support for the Royal family. The public will see how much tax the King and Prince William pay to HM Revenue & Customs on Thursday.
King Charles hopes to give “clarity and accessibility” about Royal finances, with the “overall” figures covering the 2024-25 financial year.
The move comes as polling suggests support for the royals has dropped from a high in 2012 of 80% to 55% this year. Support for abolishing them has also risen from 13% in 2012 to 27% over the same period.
But publishing the Royal finances will not go far enough for some critics as they are unlikely to show how the tax is calculated. Campaign group Republic said the move leaves many unanswered questions and has called for independent authorities to audit and disclose royal tax and income instead.
Republic’s Graham Smith said: “The royals can’t be allowed to self-declare their tax. They’ll spin this as Charles being a huge taxpayer, but the question is why is his income so high?
“Given royal access and influence the public deserve full disclosure on income, investments and taxes. We need a genuinely independent review of their income, expenditure and taxation.
“And questions remain about why income tax is voluntary, what they off-set against tax, and why Charles was able to avoid a multi-million pound inheritance tax when his mother died.
“William also has questions to answer. Why are we effectively paying William and Charles a personal income of more than £20m each from the two Duchies. These are public assets. The main issue remains however: why the monarchy costs the country well over £500m a year, far more than they admit to.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the move comes “to encourage wider understanding of our accountability” and “to enhance this transparency still further”.
They added: “To put it simply: we continue to modernise and evolve.”
Sian Berry, the Green MP, has also announced her intention to attempt to amend the Freedom of Information Act to bring the King and royal household within its scope.
This would allow the public a legally enforceable right to ask for information about how the royals operate for the first time.