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Tuesday 9 April 2013 - 08:01

British royal prince Charles required to return Duchy money to owners

Story Code : 252775
British royal prince Charles required to return Duchy money to owners
The Private Members’ Bill introduced by Labour peer, Lord Berkeley requires the heir to the throne to hand over the vast wealth of the Duchy of Cornwall to the county’s residents, British media reported.
 
According to reports the Duchy, which is one of the largest estates in Britain, owns more than 120,000 acres of land, including two percent of Cornwall and most of the Scilly Isles.
 
Prince Charles had been granted a revenue surplus of 2.8 percent last year to collect £18.3million. Under Lord Berkeley’s proposals, all the income Charles would normally receive would go into a trust for people living in the area, who some claim are treated little better than serfs.
 
“The purpose of the Bill is to provoke a debate. What we need is a dialogue about the Duchy because it is not transparent enough. It acts as if it is above the law”, said Lord Berkeley.
 
“There’s a sense that people are frightened of complaining or challenging it because they fear they’ll be kicked out of their homes or lose their jobs”, he added.
 
Lord Berkeley said he was writing to Prince Charles to ask for his thoughts on the issue. The Duchy has refused to comment, insisting it is a matter for Parliament.
 
Earlier in the year, the Duchy of Cornwall was challenged by the Commons Public Accounts Committee over his avoidance to pay any corporation tax.
 
“We welcome the news that the PAC will be adding the Duchy to their inquiry into corporation tax avoidance. As we pointed out in December there is no justification for the Duchy to be avoiding this tax”, said Republic’s chief executive Graham Smith at the time.
 
“It’s time this well entrenched tax avoidance scheme was closed down by the Treasury and the royals were told they can no longer enjoy privileged tax status”, added Smith.
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