Horrors: Belgian Royals Must Now Pay Taxes

Their allowances also are cut, except for the reigning king
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 6, 2013 3:21 PM CDT
Horrors: Belgian Royals Must Now Pay Taxes
Queen Fabiola of Belgium, wife of former King Baudouin.   (AP Photo/ Thierry Charlier, File)

Belgium is taking after the monarchies of Britain and the Netherlands and trimming the royal purse strings. Reigning King Albert II is exempt, but other royals are going to pay income taxes for the first time and get smaller allowances, reports Reuters. For instance, in the case of Queen Fabiola—she is the widow of the previous king—her annual allowance is shrinking to $600,000 from $1.7 million. The king's kids are taking similar cuts, reports AFP. Much of this stems from an outrage that ensued earlier this year when Fabiola was accused of trying to skirt the system by setting up a trust to shield her fortune from estate taxes. (More Belgium stories.)

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