It's been a turbulent year for His Royal Highness Prince Leonard I. The 91-year-old self-proclaimed ruler of the Principality of Hutt River in Western Australia, abdicated power in February. Now a court has ruled that he and one his sons must pay A$3m (£1.8m; $2.3m) in unpaid taxes.
The judge in the case dismissed their claims to sovereignty over their 18,500-acre farm as having "no legal merit or substance". The Principality of Hutt River, 500km (300 miles) north of Perth, says it seceded from Australia in 1970, though the government does not acknowledge this.
Self-proclaimed Prince Leonard Casley declared independence after a dispute with the government over wheat quotas. The farm, which has a population of about 30, created its own tax system and laws and issues its own currency, stamps and passports. Tourists can pay a few dollars for a visa and a personal tour of the site, which is bigger than the Vatican, Monaco and Nauru, but is not recognised by any government.
The Australian Tax Office has long been chasing the prince and his son, Arthur Casley - known as Prince Wayne - for overdue taxes. In 1977, the farm briefly declared war on Australia over one demand for payment.
Prince Graeme, who took over as ruler in February but was not implicated in the case, said he was "disappointed" by the court's decision. "We're a fully independent country," he told the BBC. "We don't believe the income was earned within the Australian jurisdiction." He suggested that an appeal may be lodged on grounds of human rights violations due to the "mental torture" caused by repeated court cases.
That's BS Trump would be proud of. Anyway they totally should have formed a Grand Duchy instead.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-40298433
Sister blog of Physicists of the Caribbean in which I babble about non-astronomy stuff, because everyone needs a hobby
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If I remember rightly there is a Grand Duchy located in one of Sydney's Northern suburbs. They still pay taxes though, so we mock respectfully and apply for citizenship online because he issues titles in return for fan mail.
ReplyDeleteEdit: nope, it's a principality.
Good to see the court responded correctly.
ReplyDeleteYeah ? Well I'd like to see a monarch who ruled without taxation... :P
ReplyDeleteTheft is taxation!
ReplyDelete