Probe sought into ‘tax evasion’ by Prince Charles' estate

The United Kingdom's revenue and customs department has been asked to investigate the Duchy of Cornwall, the £728-million hereditary estate of Prince Charles, for tax evasion on the income it provides to the prince - which last year amounted to over £18 million.

The anti-monarchy group Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state, said it had written to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Margaret Hodge, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, asking them to investigate the organisation's "well entrenched tax avoidance scheme".

It claims that an information commissioner ruling in November last year means the 675-year-old duchy is a separate legal entity to the prince, making it liable for corporation tax.

The duchy is the estate given to the heir to the throne, and according to its 2012 accounts, comprises around 53,408 hectares of agricultural, commercial and residential land in 24 counties, mostly in the south west of England and including the whole of the Isles of Scilly.

It was created in 1337 by Edward III for his son and heir, Prince Edward, the Black Prince, who became the first Duke of Cornwall.

Clarence House defended the financial arrangements of the Prince of Wales today, saying that the duchy is a trust set up to generate income for Princes of Wales and as such not liable to pay the tax.