'Time To Tax The Royals?': King And William Under Fire For Allegedly Profiting From Cash-Strapped Public Services

The Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, owned by King Charles and Prince William, respectively, earned millions of pounds in rent from charities and public services, as per a new report on the Royal Family's finances. The report says that both the duchies would be making £50m from renting out spaces to public services. The Duchies, which hold more than 5,400 leashes, are exempted from paying business taxes. According to an investigation by Channel 4's Dispatches and Sunday Times, King Charles would also be making at least £28 million from windfarms as the Duchy of Lancaster holds the right to charge cables crossing foreshore. It will also make £11.4 million from a 15-year deal on a warehouse to Guys and St Thomas NHS Trust to store its fleet of ambulances. "I think this asks quite searching questions about how they are making their profits," author and campaigner Guy Shrubsole told Mirron, the UK-based media organization. "Why are there not peppercorn rents or social rents being charged for the NHS for example?" he added. Prince William's Duchy of Cornwall, signed a £37 million deal to rent out Dartmoor prison to the Ministry of Justice for 25 years. King Charles III was a part of the Macmillian Cancer Support for many years, however, the Duchy of Cornwall made £22 million by leasing out an office space in London to charities including Macmillan and Marie Curie. William's duchy charged £600,000 for building a fire station and would also be making nearly £600,000 from rental agreements with six schools, the reports stated. Guardian reported that despite King and Prince William's stance on environmental issues, several properties rented out by the royals have broken government energy efficiency standards. Both duchies said they were working towards efforts to become greener. Both the royal estates also signed deals with quarrying and mining businesses.

What Critics Say About The Royal DuchiesBaroness Margaret Hodge, a former chair of the Commons public accounts committee, said that the duchies should be liable to pay the corporation tax. "This would be brilliant time for the monarch to say, I'm going to be open, and I want to be treated as fairly as anybody," Hodge said.