Earlier this week, Jack Middleton, MSP for Aberdeenshire, sent a letter to King Charles “seeking clarity” on whether or not he would pay the newly raised rates of council tax on his Scottish properties.
The question follows Scotland’s new laws allowing local authorities to raise council taxes on second homes.
Aberdeenshire, for example, has recently introduced a 200 per cent council tax premium on second homes on September 1, meaning that for King Charles’ privately owned Balmoral Castle, in West Aberdeenshire, council tax would now sit at three times the standard rate.
Similarly, in Edinburgh, a 300 per cent council tax premium is being introduced on second homes, meaning that Holyrood Palace, Canongate, would now be paying four times the standard rate of council tax for the area.
The new crackdown on second homes comes as a response to Scotland’s growing housing crisis, and, as Jack Middleton writes, is designed to “increase housing availability and prioritise homes for living in rather than occasional use”.
The monarch and heir are not obligated by law to pay local or income taxes, but following in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth, King Charles reportedly does pay on a voluntary basis rather than as a legal requirement.
Charles has recently taken steps to increase transparency regarding the royal finances, being the first royal to disclose his annual tax payment in June, but many believe this is just not far enough.
One University of Edinburgh politics student said “disclosing one tax payment means nothing without disclosing his income or other finances.”
Another said that they were “shocked that he wasn’t paying more than the standard rate of council tax already,” when asked about the King’s Scottish homes.
Jack Middleton’s letter is reportedly yet to receive a response, and the MSP, along with millions of others, is still awaiting a comment from Buckingham Palace.
Photo by Anika De Klerk on Unsplash.
