§ Norman BakerTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps he has taken to distinguish, for the purpose of treatment of royal finances, between the private wealth of the sovereign and that held in trust by the sovereign in her capacity as head of state; and if he will make a statement; [21535]
(2) if he will list the taxation provisions where the treatment of the sovereign in her private capacity differs from that applied to the rest of the population; [21533]
(3) if he will take steps to make mandatory the arrangement under which Her Majesty the Queen pays tax on her private income. [21532]
§ Mr. Gordon Brown[holding answers 10 December 2001]: The taxation arrangements for Her Majesty are set out in the Memorandum of Understanding in the Royal Trustees Report (HC 464) published on 11 February 1993. Assets held by Her Majesty as Head of State, i.e. on behalf of the nation, include the Royal Collection, the assets of the Crown Estate, the occupied and Historic Royal Palaces, and the Royal Parks. These are distinct from private assets, whose tax treatment is covered in the Memorandum of Understanding. We have no plans to change these arrangements.