Weekend Economists: Wedding Bells are Breaking Up that Old Gang June 26-28, 2015

[Demeter]

17. Scotland is refusing to give the Queen any more money

ANOTHER MARRIAGE BREAKING UP--THIS ONE WAS MORE LIKE A CONTINUOUS RAPE--MARRIAGE BY FORCE

http://www.businessinsider.com/scotland-is-refusing-to-give-the-queen-elizabeth-ii-any-more-money-2015-6

The Queen is set to lose out on £2 million ($3.2 million) a year because the Scottish government is refusing to give her any more money. Senior Scottish parliament sources said in no uncertain terms to several British newspapers, including The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Times, that Scotland's parliament, now led by Nicola Sturgeon, was looking to ax handouts from the Crown Estate, north of the border.

The Daily Mail said, without citing sources, "from April 1 next year, the SNP-led Scottish government has chosen to bank the money itself." Meanwhile, an unnamed senior aide told The Guardian "originally, Alex Salmond did imply that might happen. But the new leadership said no," in response to the claim that Scotland would still give the Queen money from the Crown Estate. In The Telegraph, a senior aide said Scotland would not be giving money from the Crown Estate to the Queen: "Not through the Sovereign Grant, no." The courtier added the rest of the UK could bear the cost burden: "At the moment there's no other mechanism in place to compensate. It would be nice if the proportion was increased from the rest of the UK."

The Crown Estate is an independent commercial business that manages the Queen's property portfolio, which mainly includes land and properties. The profits are passed on to the UK Treasury, and a slice is given to the Queen. This is how the Royal household gets most of its funding. Three years ago, the government forged a deal for Buckingham Palace that meant it would be shielded from any cuts to public spending. The deal also agreed that the monarchy would receive 15% of profits of the £9.9 billion ($15.1 billion) Crown Estate, and the amount the Queen would receive would never be less than the amount received in the previous year.

This caused a massive rise in what Queen Elizabeth II received over the past three years. She got £40 million ($61 million) in the 2013-2014 financial year, 29% above the £31 million ($47.2 million) she received in 2012-2013.

MORE--THIS SHOULD PROVE INTERESTING!