How Prince William may have avoided up to £3m in property taxes

How Prince William may have avoided up to £3m in property taxes



Posted by theipaper

9 comments

  1. Prince William appears to have legally avoided up to £3m in property taxes since taking over from his father the Duchy of Cornwall, *The i Paper* can reveal.

    The Duchy is a private estate that provides income for the heir to the British throne that is used to support himself, his family and his charitable work.

    An analysis of the Duchy’s financial records since Prince William took over the £1.1bn property portfolio following the Queen’s death in September 2022, reveals that it has made “net gains on disposals of investment property ” of £16.5m.

    Unlike other commercial landlords, the Duchy is exempt from paying Capital Gains Tax (CGT) so it does not have to hand over any tax to the Treasury on these multi-million pound profits. Prince William is not entitled to the capital of the Duchy estate but receives all surplus revenues which last year amounted to almost £24m, which he pays income tax on.

    The Duchy refuses to reveal the identity of which properties it has sold so it is impossible to work out the precise amount of CGT the estate has legally avoided paying since Prince William took control. Other landlords would be able to reduce their CGT bill by deducting such costs as maintenance payments and applying additional tax reliefs.

    However financial experts have told *The i Paper* that it is likely other property owners would have been subject to a 20 per cent tax on the £16.5m which would equate to £3.3m.

    In addition, future tax-free profits made by Prince William, through the Duchy, on property sales are likely to been even higher as the government has raised [capital gains tax](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/property-and-mortgages/rachel-reeves-budget-changes-capital-gains-tax-3311891?ico=in-line_link) (CGT) on companies from 20 per cent to 24 per cent in October’s budget.

    CGT is paid by investors, business owners, and some landlords who make a profit when selling houses or flats they do not live in, such as [holiday homes or buy-to-let properties.](https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/property-and-mortgages/landlord-selling-homes-budget-capital-gains-tax-3303494?ico=in-line_link)

    The tax is paid by about 350,000 people and raises about £15bn per year.

    Robert Palmer, executive director of campaign group Tax Justice UK, said: “It’s deeply unfair that Prince William doesn’t pay these taxes.

    “Ordinary people across the country work hard and pay their taxes, which helps fund really important services like the health service or services to tackle homelessness.

  2. Say it ain’t so!

    Our royal rulers and benefactors obviously need more money from the land they own.

    No taxes for rich people!

  3. They haven’t avoided paying it, they legally don’t have to pay it.

    If you have a problem with this, which you should, then your problem lies with the law and not William.

  4. Hugh Grosvenor didn’t pay a penny in inheritance tax when his farther passed on the estate. He owns £9 BILLION in London property.

    But because he’s the Duke of Westminster most of the media won’t even cover this story.

  7. Class War summed him up perfectly when he was born: “another fucking royal parasite”

  8. the word ‘may’ is doing much of the heavy lifting there. Anyone ‘may’ have done anything. He either has or he hasn’t.

Comments are closed.