Another thing the report does not detail is how much of the Privy Purse income is spent by the king personally and how much of it is spent on official royal duties.
This matters because the king only pays tax on income he voluntarily spends personally, meaning the king can effectively cut royal business from his tax bill.
The king also does not pay tax on the sovereign grant, which is money given to the royal family from the treasury to pay for official duties.
This system is somewhat similar to how a self-employed person might enter expenses on their self-assessment tax return for things like uniforms or training.
Except that the king has two tax-free ways to finance official duties.
Furthermore, what counts as official duties is very different from what a regular self-employed taxpayer would incur.
For example, the tax-free Sovereign Grant may be used to fund staff costs and the operating expenses of the King’s Official Household, while non-tax official duties may be paid for by the Privy Purse, which consists of the personal income of working members of the Royal Family.
Keeper of the Privy Purse, James Chalmers, said: “While royal finances may sometimes appear complex, the underlying system is clear in principle, structured in law and refined over time to ensure that the monarch can act with independence, accountability and in the long-term interests of the nation.”
