Home » Economy, Europe, Politics » Belgium's King Philippe forced to reform royal finances

Belgium's King Philippe forced to reform royal finances

Posted by EU Times on Jul 22nd, 2013 // No Comment

geraphian20130720151037483 — Belgium’s King Albert II (R) and Crown Prince Philippe pose before a reception on July 8, 2013 at Laeken royal castle in Brussels.

Europe’s ongoing financial crisis has forced European monarchies to reconsider their spending including Belgium’s new King Philippe who must reform the royal expenses.

The 79-year-old King Albert II stepped down from the throne in favor of his son Crown Prince Philippe on July 21 after reigning over Belgium for 20 years.

The new King Philippe must apply a reform of the royal finances approved by the government last month.

While the new king, his queen and father will be spared cuts, the other members of the family will see their state-paid allowances reduced and will lose their exemptions from income tax and VAT.

The royal official budget, known as the ‘Civil List’, in Belgium runs to 10.6 million euros, plus an additional nearly 18 million euros of ‘hidden costs’ per year, which is not covered in the king’s budget but is being paid by various ministries.

The Federal State also pays wages to various members of the Royal Family, including the king’s children,

Under the reform, the widow of the late King Baudoin, Queen Fabiola, will see her yearly wage of 1.4 million euros divided by three. The new king’s salary will be unchanged at nearly a million euros. His siblings Astrid and Laurent will still get more than 300,000 a year.

The total cost of Belgium’s monarchy tops 30 million euros, while the reform shaves away around one million euros.

This is while the outgoing King Albert will also keep his annual tax-free allowance of 11.5 million euros and his personal fortune.

The Belgian monarchy says its fortune is only worth about 12.4 million euros but financial experts put it closer to one billion euros, with property and contents valued at some 780 million euros.

Source

Please wait...

Read More Stories About: Belgium, Brussels, European Monarchies, King Albert II, King Baudoin, King Philippe of Belgium, Laeken Royal Castle, Queen Fabiola, Taxes

Did you like this information? Then please consider making a donation or subscribing to our Newsletter.

« Previous

US to create two major economic unions without Russia and China

Indian children Forced to eat Poisoned school meal

Conversation Guidelines

Starting a conversation on our website is very easy, all you need to do is to write your name, email and the comment itself. No account is required to leave a comment. Your email won't be used for any purpose whatsoever, if you want, you can even write a fictitious email. Please keep it civil, try to refrain from slurs and insults. We offer Free Speech rights to our comment section but please take note that the comment section is moderated so certain comments may be held for moderation in case they triggered our automatic filters. If your comment is on hold for moderation and you can't see it anywhere there is no need to repost it. Don't worry, it doesn't mean it won't get approved. Please patiently wait and check back later.