More Taxpayers Want Royal Pain
A larger share of Britons believe that the lives of the beleaguered royal family should be more taxing.
A survey for the Sun tabloid newspaper showed that 90% of those polled thought that the royals should pay tax, while 83% said taxpayers should not finance the monarchy at all.
In a poll carried out in February, 80% thought the royal family should relinquish its tax-free status, but that was before a spate of royal scandals that appear to have undermined public confidence--including pictures of the Duchess of York, estranged wife of Prince Andrew, frolicking topless with a U.S. businessman.
Fergie and her husband Andrew receive an annual government income of $495,500 a year, the Economist magazine said. The queen receives nearly $15.86 million a year.
Newspapers have also carried reports of a taped telephone conversation between Princess Diana, the wife of Prince Charles, and a male admirer.
“People might forgive them living messy private lives if only they wouldn’t do it at the taxpayer’s expense,” columnist Lynn Barber wrote in the Observer newspaper.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
