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Royal Taxation
11 FEBRUARY 1993
Royal Taxation
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Mr. Tony Benn]
like to be allowed to elect their Head of State, as America does. Does he agree that the time has come to fight off what is otherwise cynicism and disillusionment with many of our institutions by holding a proper inquiry into the British constitution to which people could give evidence? The House could address its attention to such an inquiry instead of all the creepy crawly bowing and scraping that has come from so many Members of the House today.
The Prime Minister: The right hon. Gentleman raises various points. I certainly was not aware that I had implemented clause 40 of his Bill. I can make him no promises as to the first 39 clauses or any which may follow clause 40. On citizenship, if the right hon. Gentleman cares to read the Maastricht treaty more carefully, he will find that Her Majesty the Queen and every other British citizen remains a British citizen first and foremost, and at no stage will that be changed.
The right hon. Gentleman raised a much wider remit in his other points. I do not believe that he would carry many people in the country with him in the beliefs that he expressed in his final remarks.
Mr. Peter Bottomley (Eltham): May I echo something that has already been said? The sovereign, as a focus for military, civil and voluntary service in this country, has responded to the popular will. Does my right hon. Friend share my hope that no test will be made of whether any income from copyright damages should be subject to tax? May I suggest that the newspapers involved drop their opposition to the case, settle and reflect the popular mood in the same way as Her Majesty?
The Prime Minister: I understand my hon. friend's point, but I am not sure that I would be prudent to respond to it this afternoon.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover): As one or two people are claiming credit for this proposal, let me remind the Prime Minister that, on the opening day of this Parliament, Black Rod came into the Chamber, stood beside me and asked us to go and see the Queen. I told her to pay her taxes, and I think that my voluntary unpaid research assistant, Black Rod, has done a reasonable job for a start.
Will the Prime Minister now deal with the hard part of the arrangement? Will the Queen be taxed on the £6,500 million that The Sunday Times declared to be her total assets in May 1992? Will she be taxed on the £500 million that supposedly constituted her personal wealth on the same date? Will she be taxed on the £341 million of investment income mentioned in Philip Hall's book about tax and the monarchy? Will she be taxed on the £50 million or less that some of the newspapers have recently fed out, suggesting that the Queen does not really have much money at all, and that she will probably pay only two million quid in taxes?
The Queen has been forced into paying tax by pressure from people outside. The last thing that she wants to do is to give those people the impression that there is one tax regime for her and another for the ordinary punter.
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The Prime Minister: I am unwilling to give credit where it is not due: Although the hon. Gentleman sought to make a passable case for taking the credit himself, I repeat that the initiative came from the Queen. [Vitec NAD PASS
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Mr. Skinner: Joke!
The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman admits to being a joke, and I will not argue with him.
Madam Speaker: It is his birthday today.
The Prime Minister: In that case, I happily withdraw my last remark. On behalf of the House, I wish the hon. Gentleman a very happy birthday, and I will not respond in the beastly way in which I would otherwise have responded to the ludicrous question that he asked me.
Mr. Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton): May I invite my right hon. Friend to consider a hypothetical situation? At some time in the future, the balance of party representation in the Chamber may be rather different. If Her Majesty were called on to exercise her royal prerogative and choose between two leaders, one with a high-tax policy and the other with a low-tax policy, would there not be a severe risk of her being inexorably drawn into the forum of party-political conflict? Although her own conduct would be impeccable, is there not a risk that comment on it would not?
May I ask my right hon. Friend to reconsider the decision that Her Majesty should pay tax at the prevailing rate, and think of introducing a special rate that would cross the political boundary?
The Prime Minister: I do not think that I can accommodate that last suggestion. It is the express wish of Her Majesty that she should pay income tax on her assessed income, in precisely the same way as other income tax payers, and I believe that that is the right way for her to proceed. As for my hon. Friend's earlier point, Her Majesty is of course unable to vote.
Mr. Gordon Prentice (Pendle): Is the Prime Minister aware that the average inheritance in my constituency is £13,000, and that many people in Pendle will look askance at the special arrangements for inheritance that he has suggested today? Will the right hon. Gentleman compile an inventory showing which goods belong to the state and which belong to the monarch? No such inventory exists at present.
The Prime Minister: If the hon. Gentleman thinks that that is how his constituents would react, I do not believe that he knows his constituents remotely as well as he should. I have set out the arrangements under which Her Majesty will pay tax, and I think that they are perfectly clear to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Andrew Rowe (Mid-Kent): Does my right hon. Friend agree that, if institutions in this country depended on the popular perception at any one time of individual holders of them, there would be precious few institutions left? Will he state explicitly what he has repeatedly said implicitly--that it is Conservative party policy to support the monarchy?
The Prime Minister: I can confirm that the Conservative party, and every member of the Conservative party—and many beyond it—are strong monarchists and would not wish 'to' see changes in the institutional hereditary monarchy in this country.
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JMr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow): May we try to clarify the position of the rouyal collection trust, which is to be set up at the beginning of April? Why should it not become the
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