Inheritance tax is paid by people who have inherited money or property after the death of another person.
Unless your money is kept in a trust, like the Duke of Westminster, everyone in the UK faces a 40 per cent tax bill for any assets valued at over £325,000.
So how much will King Charles III have to pay as the Queen was reported to have a net worth of £365m, according to the Sunday Times?
A grand total of ZERO.
Inappropriate
The Government deemed it to be “inappropriate”.
Charles will inherit the Duchy of Lancaster estate without paying a penny.
The UK government in 1993 to guard against the royal family’s assets being wiped out if two monarchs were to die in a short period of time, i News reported.
The Government outlines: “In relation to assets which can properly be regarded as private, the arrangements provide that inheritance tax will not be paid on gifts of bequests from one sovereign to the next, but will be payable on gifts and bequests to anyone else.
“Tax will also not be payable on assets passing to the Sovereign on the death of a consort of a former Sovereign.
“The reasons for not taxing assets passing to the next Sovereign are that private assets such as Sandringham and moral have official as well as private use, and that the Monarchy as an institution needs sufficient private resources to enable it to continue to perform its traditional role in national life, and to have a degree of financial independence from the Government of the day.”
What are Charles III’s duties and powers as King?
The King is a constitutional monarch who must remain politically neutral.
The head of state has “an important formal and ceremonial relationship” with Parliament, the monarchy’s official website says.
Charles’s role will consist, as did the late Queen’s, of assenting to Bills passed by Parliament on the advice of ministers.
He will also give audiences to ministers, at which he may be “consulted, encourage and warn”, and summon new Parliaments on the Government’s advice, and open and close – or prorogue – each session of Parliament.
His assent is required to all bills passed by Parliament in order for them to become law. Royal Assent has not been refused since 1707.
It is also a long established convention that the monarch is asked for consent to debate bills which would affect the prerogative or interests of the Crown.
Research by The Guardian in 2021 found more than 1,000 laws had been vetted by Elizabeth II – including whether national traffic rules applied to her private estates of Balmoral and Sandringham.
In the annual State Opening of Parliament ceremony, the King will open Parliament in person, and deliver the King’s Speech.
It will also be Charles’s duty to appoint any future prime ministers – one of the few remaining personal prerogatives of the sovereign.
The monarch does not act on advice nor need to consult anyone before calling upon the leader with an overall majority of seats in the House of Commons to form a government.
It was one of the Queen’s last ever duties, just two days before she died, when she appointed Liz Truss as PM at Balmoral Castle.
The King will also hold a regular audience with Ms Truss, usually weekly on a Wednesday.
He has already met with Ms Truss, the Cabinet, opposition leaders and Realm High Commissioners in the three days since his accession.
The monarch is also head of the Privy Council, which usually meets once a month.
This is the oldest form of legislative assembly still functioning in the UK, responsible for a number of executive responsibilities.
At each meeting the Council obtains the King’s formal approval to orders which have already been discussed and approved by ministers.
He also approves proclamations through Council – which are formal notices cover issues such as the summoning of a new Parliament, coinage and the dates of certain bank holidays.
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