The Mirror: OMG, the Sussexes paid the property taxes on their Montecito home!

You know how the British media is completely desperate for any kind of news about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? It’s true. The British papers employ people to look through incorporation filings in Delaware, that’s how desperate they are to find stories about Meghan and Harry. The British media has a particular interest in Harry and Meghan’s money and businesses. That’s what the “oh no, they incorporated in Delaware” was all about. And now this: the Daily Mirror thinks it’s somehow notable that Harry and Meghan pay property taxes. I sh-t you not.

Prince Harry and wife Meghan are facing a “council tax” bill of £103,995 on their Californian mansion. Documents uncovered by the Sunday Mirror show the 2021-22 charge from Santa Barbara County came in two instalments of £51,978. The fee, double what experts had estimated, is based on the value of the property in swanky Montecito.

The couple, who quit royal duties as part of a move to the US, bought the nine-bed, 13-bathroom home in June 2020 for around £11.5million, with a mortgage thought to be £7.4million. Previous owner Sergey Grishin, a Russian businessman, had paid £17million a decade earlier.

The first instalment of the tax bill was due on December 10, the second on February 1 – with a 10% penalty for any bills not paid by April 11. A source said: “The bill is a huge sum but it’s peanuts in relation to their earnings.”

Local experts say the Tuscan-style mansion, built in 2003 and 80 miles north of LA, is now worth £19.4million. It has a library, gym, cinema room, spa, pool, tennis court, guest house and a playground for children Archie, two, and Lilibet, eight months.

Harry, 37, also faces a huge income tax bill in April now he is resident in the US. His team was approached for comment.

[From The Daily Mirror]

Imagine caring about Harry and Meghan’s property taxes. Imagine that desperation. But I’d like to point out something else: for the British media, it’s somewhat exotic for them to be able to talk about property taxes and income taxes in royal coverage. That’s because the Queen doesn’t pay property taxes and the Prince of Wales is the biggest land-owner and landlord in the UK. I believe that only a handful of royals even pay any kind of tax whatsoever, income or property or capital gains or what have you. Anyway, Harry and Meghan have accountants and this is all their headache, not the Mirror’s headache.

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