The decision by the palace to reveal Charles’s tax details raises a number of questions. 

The palace has a long history of using sleight of hand and questionable reporting to avoid real scrutiny. So journalists, politicians and campaigners must ensure Charles is properly challenged on any figures they publish.

These questions have been drafted without sight of the palace report, but are an early warning of possible queries about the figures they release. 

Summary of questions regarding Charles's tax

If the palace releases figures on how much tax Charles has paid, this is only meaningful information if there is corresponding information about his income.

If the palace talks only about his Duchy of Lancaster income, then the question must be asked as to whether any tax figure is all the tax paid or just on the Duchy income.

If they give figures on taxes paid on other income, they will need to disclose his total income from all taxable sources for any tax figure to properly inform the public. Otherwise, his tax bill will appear to be a much larger percentage of his income than it is.

If the palace is not clear about the income being taxed, this must be challenged. 

Income declared should include:

  • - The profits from the Duchy of Lancaster;
  • - Share dividends
  • - Interest on bonds
  • - Capital gains from the sale of shares, bonds or property;
  • - Trading and rents from Balmoral, Sandringham and any other estates not included in the Duchy of Lancaster income.

In the past, Charles has included VAT in his Duchy tax bill, which is misleading, as this is separate from his income tax and capital gains tax and isn't usually included when determining whether someone is paying the right rate of tax.

VAT should not be included in any reported percentage of income being taxed.

It is also necessary to have details of what is being offset against tax. Charles has unique privileges here.

Unlike ordinary workers, Charles is able to claim significant costs relating to his private residences against his tax bill. This is essentially a 'work from home' benefit not afforded to anyone else.

This needs to be explained, justified and costed.

The two duchies have long insisted that a significant portion of their profits are spent on 'official duties and charitable work'. This needs to be explained and costed as this will have implications for his tax bill.

The monarchy is estimated to cost more than half a billion pounds a year. The Sovereign Grant is well over £100m a year. What official costs and charitable work is Charles covering from his own personal income derived from the Duchy, and why?

As always, given the two Duchies are state assets derived from the same source as the Crown Estate, there remains no reasonable justification for allowing Charles and William to receive their profits as personal income.

Speaking for Republic, Graham Smith said today:

“The palace are keen to spin this as Charles being a huge contributor to the public purse. But it raises questions about his huge income and unique tax privileges.”

“Their report is also likely to raise questions about their honesty in the way they present their finances and tax bill. Adding VAT is deeply misleading, as this is not considered part of a person’s tax on income.”

“A figure for tax tells the public very little if there isn’t corresponding detail on his income. Given Charles has unique and secretive access to government and policy decision-making, this gives him unrivalled advantages when investing his vast wealth.”

“We need transparency and full disclosure to guard against abuse of privilege and conflicts of interest.”

LINKS to Duchy and Half Billion reports.