News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as 'Not My King' tag grows. Parent comment

Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by quibono on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:02PM (#32819932)
I've heard that many times but I've always wondered whether is is a net positive given all the tax spending that goes towards the royal family. I guess we'll never know since it's impossible to tell exactly how much tourism is in part based on the queen/king/monarchy sentiment.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by opportune on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:15PM (#32820013)
It ignores the fact that the royal family owns a tremendous amount of assets that are not directly used in tourism or used by the state. And that they live off those taxes and spending.

If the UK abolished the monarchy, tourism attractions like Westminster and the Crown Jewels would still exist

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by nly on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @02:32AM (#32821239)
Is 20 odd billion £ really a tremendous amount of assets when the government can magic up 150 billion on a whim to cap energy bills?

It's peanuts in the scheme of things. The royal family aren't even that rich amongst the billion class in the US.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by MagnumOpus on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @03:59AM (#32821701)
> 20 odd billion £ really a tremendous amount of assets

yes

> government can magic up 150 billion

that is also a tremendous amount which the next British generations will labour decades to pay off, just so today's pensioners can heat their homes to the 25C they are used to, and still have their ski outings in Zermatt.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by sofixa on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @05:19AM (#32822120)
> that is also a tremendous amount which the next British generations will labour decades to pay off, just so today's pensioners can heat their homes to the 25C they are used to, and still have their ski outings in Zermatt.

It is a tremendous amount indeed, but i don't know why you think it's only pensioners and skiers who would benefit from not having to choose between food and energy.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by toomanybeersies on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:21PM (#32820046)
Imagine the money they'd make if they turned Buckingham Palace into a hotel.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by toomanybeersies on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:18PM (#32820039)
The king is paid from earnings generated by the Crown Estate [0], which is basically a state owned property investment fund. From my understanding, taxpayer money hasn't been used to fund the monarchy since the 1700s.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Estate

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by darkr on Monday September 12, 2022 @10:33PM (#32820100)
The sovereign grant currently running around £90M/year: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_Grant_Act_2011
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by wheelinsupial on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @12:04AM (#32820543)
By no means am I an expert on this, but it looks like the sovereign grant is a tax refund paid to the crown from the taxes that the Crown Estate pays.

https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-57559653.amp

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by MagnumOpus on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @04:01AM (#32821712)
The sovereign grant is paid to the Windsor family, not the Crown.

It is important to distinguish the "Crown" (essentially the monarchy-as-government) and the queens' family and hangers-on...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. as '... by nly on Tuesday September 13, 2022 @02:35AM (#32821255)
It's peanuts though? I mean that's about 1000 well paid London software engineers paying their typical income tax.
[ Parent | on HN ]