Time to end the King's tax breaks
The Scottish Greens will next week force a vote on ending the King’s exclusive 100% tax break when buying property in Scotland.
Party co-leader Ross Greer will move an amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill to close the loophole which allows the King to purchase property in Scotland without paying any Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).
Every other family or individual buying a property worth £145,000 or more must pay LBTT at 5-12%, depending on the property value.
The billionaire monarch is currently entitled to a range of tax exemptions such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax and corporation tax. Most of these are reserved to the UK Government, however Land and Buildings Transaction tax is fully devolved to the Scottish Government and Parliament.
The Scottish Greens are calling on other parties to agree that power and privilege is no reason to avoid paying your fair share.
Ross said:
“It is totally unjustifiable for one of the richest men in the world to be given a free pass from paying taxes simply because of the wealthy family he was born into.
“It is no secret that the Scottish Greens are a republican party and that we would abolish the monarchy tomorrow, but even those who support the UK having an unelected head of state would surely agree that the King can afford to pay his fair share towards our public services.
“There must not be one rule for elites and another for the rest of us. We should not be a nation where the powerful and privileged are exempt from contributing fairly.
“I hope that MSPs from all parties will agree to end these outdated and unfair tax breaks.
“The monarchy is an anti-democratic hangover from an earlier era. No family should be allowed to exempt themselves from following the laws of the land. It is long past time for the King to start paying his taxes.”