Britain: A Taxing Problem

What do the simple folk do? Pay taxes. And if Liberal Democrat M.P. Simon Hughes has his way, Queen Elizabeth II will soon pony up her share. Hughes introduced a bill in the House of Commons last week requiring the Queen to pay taxes on the $35 million she receives each year in private income from stock investments and land. The annual $12.7 million she gets from the government for expenses would remain tax free.

It is unlikely the bill will become law. But Hughes’ gesture is consistent with a growing public disapproval of the half-century-old perk that exempts the Queen — whose worth is estimated to be upwards of $9.6 billion — from the 40% top tax rate her subjects endure. Publicly, Buckingham Palace had no comment on the bill; privately, officials concede that public opinion might persuade the Queen to pay up. Confided one: “She knows sooner or later she will be paying taxes, but if she agreed to it now, it would be seen to be bending to pressure.”