Prince Charles

Prince Charles

Prince Charles has been called to pay his fair share of taxes.

The British royal's financial affairs have been compared to tax avoiding firms like Starbucks.

The coffeehouse chain agreed to pay £20 million in taxes over two years after it emerged over 14 years of trading the company had only paid £8.6 million in corporation tax.

It is said the prince only pays a voluntary amount on the profits his Duchy of Cornwall estate makes - although it is exempt from corporation and capital gain tax.

Labour MP Margaret Hodge - who chairs the Public Accounts Committee - raised her "concerns" over the situation.

She said: "There are concerns over why the Duchy of Cornwall doesn't pay corporation tax and whether a fair share of tax is paid from the profits and income raised in the Duchy."

It will be claimed on a Channel 4 'Dispatches' programme tonight (01.07.13) that Charles' Duchy could have avoided up to £1 million in taxes.

However, it is argued his income from the estate is used to pay the costs of public duties for Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge.

A spokesman stated: "The Prince pays income tax voluntarily on the surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall at the highest rate which was 50 per cent in 2012-13, resulting in a total of £4.4 million, including an element of VAT."