Queen Elizabeth II's costs rising, accounts show

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City of Industry, CA --(www.USEquityNews.com)-- 07/01/2009 - Taxes industry alert provided by U.S. Equity News. LONDON (AP) -- Public funding for Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family cost British taxpayers the equivalent of 69 pence (US$1.14) each last year, according to accounts published Monday.


The Queen's office said that the costs incurred by the royal family were 41.5 million pounds ($68.6 million) in the year to March 31, an increase of 1.5 million ($2.48 million) on the previous year.

It means supporting the royal family cost British taxpayers an extra 3 pence (5 US cents) each last year.

Public money is used to pay the costs of travel and operating and staffing homes used by the royal family, including the Queen's Buckingham Palace residence.

Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse -- or treasurer to the royal household -- said travel costs rose because fewer aircraft were available from the Royal Air Force, meaning that members of the royal family needed to charter commercial aircraft for overseas visits, often at short notice. [Read the full article]

PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's budget battle is going down to the wire, with an intraparty struggle between Republican Gov. Jan Brewer and the GOP-led Legislature creating the possibility of a state government shutdown starting Wednesday.

Lawmakers on Monday resumed consideration of a proposed last-minute compromise with Brewer, but many Republican lawmakers were resisting Brewer's proposed sales tax increase to help close the state's massive revenue shortfall.

Instead, some powerful GOP legislators were pushing for tax cuts -- to the unease of colleagues. And there's continuing debate over spending cuts and proposed raids on money usually shared with local government.

Consideration of the package was bumpy by the start on Monday. The first committee slated to consider elements of the package rejected the main spending bill on a 4-4 tie and then recessed to regroup. [Read the full article]

Gov. Deval Patrick signed a 25-percent hike in the state's sales tax into law on Monday, and it will take effect on Aug. 1.

That's two weeks before the Legislature has in recent years granted a weekend reprieve from the state's 5-percent sales tax. The move has been an effort to spur business amid the summer doldrums.

But Patrick says "that would be a very difficult thing" to repeat in a budget year that has already seen sharp program cuts, layoffs and an increase in the sales tax to 6.25 percent.

The state estimates it lost about $14.9 million in tax receipts during the two-day holiday last Aug. 16 and 17. The year before, it pegged the loss at $15.9 million.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. [Read the full article]

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. [Read the full article]

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