When rulers started paying taxes
In the year of Tangentopoli for Italy, the English sovereigns began to pay taxes for the first time, but they obtained a relief on the succession, a very sensitive topic for the pockets of the royals: their assets, transmitted from generation to generation, are always consistent. But that tax prebend remained dormant, thanks or luck to the very long existence of Prince Philip. The royal tax experts, however, recall that there was only one case of application of the “Sovereign to Sovereign” rule, but not for a noble title, and it appeared twenty years after that exemption: in 2002 with the disappearance of the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the legacy of the elderly sovereign, including a very rare collection of Fabergè eggs, estimated at 70 million pounds, passed to Elizabeth II tax free.
With the death of Prince Philip, the exemption was applied to a noble title. In order not to have to pay 40% of the assets to the tax authorities, the inheritance must go to a direct heir to the throne. Therefore Philip could have passed his title only to the Queen, who however already has a conspicuous collection of titles; or to the only son Carlo, the only direct heir to the throne. If the centenary prince had decided to reward his other children as well, the Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward, the hateful inheritance tax would be released.
The origin of the rent
Charles already enjoys the title of Prince of Wales, Prince of Wales, which guarantees him the millionaire’s income Duchy of Cornwall, the Duchy of Cornwall, which is worth beyond 1 billion pounds and pays £ 22 million a year. The income is a privilege that dates back to the Middle Ages, it was established by King Eduardo III for his son, the Black Prince (Black Prince), but that Charles is obliged to share with his sons heirs to the throne. To the Principe Harry they were due several million a year, but now with the “expulsion” from the Royal House, the sum remains in the father’s pocket. And so now Carlo will add two noble titles and the relative income, while the other three brothers will remain dry. But in this way the assets of the royal house do not end up enriching the hungry HMRC, the English revenue agency.
The importance of the Testament
Even before the left in Italy began its twenty-year controversy against Silvio Berlusconi and the alleged tailor-made laws, England was already experimenting with the Laws ad Personam. Indeed, Ad Coronam, because the privileges will be passed on in the future. While wishing all the subjects a very long life, when Elisabetta will die, his immense patrimony, estimated at 80 billion dollars, will be able to change hands without paying taxes, but only if the hands are those of Carlo. Who in turn will be able to pass on the Windsor legacy intact if it will only pass to his son William. The taxman does not forgive second children.
The tax avoidance of the Crown can take place, however, only in the presence of a will. Royals or subjects, in the United Kingdom, an official written document is required. The only way to protect the assets from the clutches of the state, in the event of death, is the will: “In the British system there is no legal figure of Legitimate – explains the London tax advisor Alessandro Belluzzo of Belluzzo International – and in the absence of a will, the judge determines the beneficiaries of the inheritance of a deceased person ”. If the last wishes have not been drawn up, the court applies the Intestacy Law, the law that establishes who owns the property.