Belgium's Queen Fabiola. File photo: Reuters |
Brussels -
Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said on Saturday that elderly Queen
Fabiola's yearly allowance will be cut immediately, after a public uproar over a
scheme to avoid death duties.
“The
reduction of Queen Fabiola's stipend will be effective right from 2013,” Di
Rupo's spokesman said in a statement, referring to a proposed amendment to the
country's budget that Di Rupo will put to the parties negotiating a reform of
the Belgian state.
The
proposed cut, the size of which was not made public, will ensure “that Queen
Fabiola's stipend cannot be greater than that of Prince Philippe,” the heir to
the throne, the statement said.
Di Rupo,
who faced a barrage of questions on the issue in parliament on Thursday, said
this would be just “the first stage in an accelerated programme of concrete
reforms” affecting all members of the royal family.
Born to
Spanish aristocratic stock, the frail widow of King Baudouin faced an
unprecedented attack this week from the media, the public and politicians
across the spectrum after deciding at the age of 84 to set up a private
foundation to provide funds for her nephews and for Catholic charities on her
death.
Critics
said the queen, who has been paid a yearly stipend of around 1.4 million euros
(about R16 million) since Baudouin's death in 1993, planned to funnel the funds
to Spanish relatives via the foundation, thus avoiding Belgium's 70 percent
death duties. - Sapa-AFP
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.