King foots half of daughter's wedding bill

Does any one know if I can opt out from paying my taxes into this shindig the way I can opt out from paying church tax?

"...the remainder funded by the Swedish taxpayer."

How can a modern society even think of using taxpayers' money to pay for a wedding just because someone happened to be born into a fortunate position?

As the lavish celebration goes ahead those 'fortunate' people should really think about the hard working people trying hard to pay bills, study and work, raise their families - and many will be saving for their own weddings.

I have nothing against people who have bornn into a 'fortunate' life and I truly wish the royal couple every happiness. BUT, they must pay for their own stuff.

This cannot go on - WAKE UP everyone!

I think the local needs to refine this story to state that Stockholm (not swedish) tax payers will be taxed for this.

125 million Kronor per year? wow! ..no wonder the tax office wants to take more than half of my miserly pay.

@Byke: it has been confirmed that the Swedish government foots the bill, not the city of Stockholm or do you mean he is Stochholm's monarch?

Personally I have no time for royalty.

A lot of UK people love there royal family and the same applies for swedes who love there royal family.

However.

From a purely business and showcasing Sweden point of view, this is actually a very good and cost effective investment for the government.

It would literally take billions of krona to get Sweden the same coverage and free advertising planetwide without this wedding.

The spend in Stockholm alone will bring in substantially more than will be paid out by the government.

The increase in tourism and interest in Sweden will generate a lot more than has been put in to this wedding.

The government is right to get involved so as to showcase Sweden.

Actually I think the Sweden government should put adverisements on TV everywhere so as to attract tourists and business during this royal wedding. That would be the most effective and cost effective advertising for inward investment that Sweden could have.

Also to all you naysayers. It gives every kommune a chance to have a big party and good time. Get out and join in the fun when it happens.

Nemesis, I am with you, although I do understand that taxpayers are not happy about it - I myself am not in a very shiny financial position, it's more than real for me how hard it is to make money for all the bills etc, and I do pay my taxes here in Stockholm.

But it is as you say: it's a big attraction and a great opportunity to get tourists flock here and get attention in worldwide media. Sweden should learn more about how to attract and service its visitors, create more things to do for the tourists, etc. There are a lot of beautiful things here, but man, you can see so many tourists in the streets just wandering about and looking for something to DO, or places to sit in, events to enjoy etc, because there are way too few venues with live music, places close way too early, no non-stop shops apart from the one 7Eleven, and so on.

FINALLY something LIVELY and nice is happening here - can't people be happy about it?

@EP : No opt out on that one I'm afraid, technically this is still a Monarchy with an active royalty base. That tax is defined as a operation tax for government. Only way to opt out is to overthrow the government or get it changed from a Monarchy, that is a very very rare event.

@Nemesis

I completely accept your opinion about showcasing, attracting tourists, more money coming in than is being spent by the taxpayer.

BUT, there is more than enough money in the royal family to cover all the expenses. After all, their money came from the proletariat of course.

Also; surely you must agree from the perspective of many people, to see someone that happens to be born in a fortunate position enjoying a good life at the people's expense raises very serious questions about the validity of such a system.

In any case, I hope the bureaucrats and institutions do a good job of including the country in the celebtrations at every level.

And with the ten million he saves thanks to the taxpayer footing half the bill, he can buy himself a couple more sportscars.

I fail to see how the swedish wedding is going to attract touristst. Please explain to me how someone else`s wedding can be a factor in chosing a holiday detsination.Surely many people think it`d be nice to see but it`s hard to imagine that americans, japanese and russians are all going to rush to Sweden because of the royal wedding.

What a foolish country being led like fools to a slaughter house..kinda makes u see while so many swedes can not think properly or face life like other people..

Royakl family my foot..They bleed as u bleed and eat as u bleed

Which people are being attracted to he shamus wedding...

Oh, I forgot one thing.

"King foots half of daughter's wedding bill"

So, what will the King do with the half he has saved so carefully?

well if the government can prove this royal wedding will bring a huge influx of tourists who are more than likely to spend on hospitality, if this generates more than 20-30 million krona that wedding week then i guess its a worthwhile venture, seems most people in the city will benefit, already apartments are been advertised for 15000-20000Kr a week and maybe less for just the weekend, areas such as söder, ostermalm, gamlastan which are quite close to the venue, cafes, restuarants and what not, seems everyone will get a piece of the action, maybe a long term effect is tourists will take a liking to Sweden and visit more often, same result, this is a big if though?? maybe the volcanic ash might protect the tax payers hard earned money who knows??

We can comment what we like as we have freedom of speech. But be careful sometimes commenting can get disabled :)

Regarding funding the royal wedding well there should be an option to drop out of that tax only then we know how many really want to support.

@nemisis. for some one who has no time for royalty, you sure wrote a long enough comment to contradict yourself.

Those who are for the the so called monarchs should flip the bill if they want. Carl Gustaf said he will pay for half but where in hell did he get that money if he hasnt done an hones day work his entire life??

will we get a refund plus interest when they get divorced?

Good luck to them - I'd much rather pay my taxes to these people as at least they are Swedish and have welcomed me into their country and not to all the benefit handouts

The concept of having a "ROYAL" family in a democratic society is totally ridiculous! I believe it is in full contradiction with the basics of democracy. Imagine how awful it becomes when the hard working part of the society has to pay for the ROYALs' fun!

djmarko says: "maybe a long term effect is tourists will take a liking to Sweden and visit more often..."

Not likely, once the tourists experience the price of food and wine in restaurants and the poor service.

Stieg Larsson's novels will inspire more tourists to visit Sweden than these parasitic royals.

Oligarchy > Monarchy > Democracy > Anarchy

That's the next step in this Worlds political system. Humans are never satisfied and too quick to disregard their ancestry. Each generation believes its smarter than the previous forgetting that knowledge is a sum.

What's my point, Kings may be relics of the past but they are also very symbolic. They give identity to the state. Along with it comes certain expense (afterall the King owns the land). Live with it

I wonder if I can get the Swedish taxpayers to pay for half of my daugthers' weddings? They will be considerably cheaper, I promise you.

"... with the remainder funded by the Swedish taxpayer."

The Swedish taxpayer? Can there be only one?

I see that The Local is full of Republicans.

Support the monarchy!

can you give me one good reason which is not costing 10 mln ?

This is outrageously medieval! Why on Earth do we pay 125 million Krona a year for people who are filthy rich to start with? A referendum on the monarchy is long overdue.

this this the most expensive family on benefits in the country.... what a rip off

Hi Guys ...

I think, and as I was told by many Swedish friends & collegues, that the royal family is able to afford all the wedding's costs without using tax payers money ... especially in such situations of financial crisis & increasing unemployment. This also would be a nice & generous gesture from the royal family in such situation. Anyway, 1.3 million $ is not a big deal in the rich men's world ... It is a chance to show who is more genorous ? the King or the People!

Leo

Mr Gee:

He's probably saving for when Madeleine (the younger princess) gets married :).

Just curious: does the royal family pay taxes as well ????

Monarchy should be abolished !

All foreigners with newly Swedish citizenships always try to show that they pay too much tax and that Swedish system does not care about their taxes......come on guys....when you come to sweden then behave like swedes....otherwise go back your own countries where there your money'll no go hands of a KING.

Swedish Royal Family ir pride of Swedes and they love them. if Swedish state pays SEK 10 million for their wedding then Swedish state also earns millions of Kroners (more than 30 million/year) in the form of tourisms, where a lot of ppl visit Swedish royal castles, spread all over the sweden. Not only this, Swedish royal family also collects and donates an average of SEK 10-20 millions every year to support research and other welfare projects in sweden.

Nemesis, I agree with you completely on this wedding. For all the people out there that hate the royal family you should try having some of the presidents here in the USA that people elect each term. They are a hell of a lot worse then your roayl family when it comes to money. There are a lot of people in this world that still like royal families and are interested in them, such as me or I. I love the history of Sweden, Norway and Denmark as far back as it goes. To me they are part of your history. This wedding is going to give Sweden some great FREE advertising for the tourist to come and see your beautiful country and all that it has to offer. There will be a lot of money spent by foreigners this year and all the business that are going to sell items of the wedding, so please stop saying this going to cost more then what your going to take in by way of money. If I could I would come to Sweden this summer and spend all the money I have just to be there for Princess Victoria's wedding and to buy some items to bring home. Another thing, your royal family really represent Sweden in the best of lights, heaven for bid if you had the British royal family to put up with. Then you would have something to bitch about. If ever a family in the spot light was a bunch of louser and free loafs it's them. Take a look at your royal family and be very proud of them. Wish I could be there and since I can't afford it, I wish all the Swedish people great joy in their royal family and have a huge party.

The Royal family are an asset to Sweden and attract much money into the country. I wish them well.

Some don't want to foot the bill for the Royal Family who bring millions of Kronor to Sweden via tourism, etc.... It's the free loaders that are a burden on the tax payers of Sweden. Most of the free loaders don't give a hoot about Swedish culture or becoming Swedes.

Not sure about how much money is brought in via tourism - when was the last time anyone heard someone say "I'm going to sweden cause they have a royal family". Would it not be better to put this money into something that attracts real tourism, Sweden is a great place to live though not really much of a place to go for a vacation. Guess it's more for Swedes than tourists..

Can you imagine having to vote for a president, besides compared to the spongers we have in the UK they are reasonably priced and don't talk half as much s#@t.

The people that dont support the wedding been paid from tax payers money, what exactly are you bitter about?? yes we pay high taxes in Sweden and we get lots of benefits by doing so, like i said the Swedish royal family are part of history just like the British royal family, i know the british royal family attracts millions of tourists every year, there are many businesses that will be making some good money on that wedding week, hotels, restaurants, some of us will rent out our apartments as well, seems loads of people will benefit anyway

@Sherian Elizabeth, Who says a president must be elected? Switzerland manages perfectly well without one.

@djmarko, Do you honestly believe that the British royal family attracts "millions of tourists every year"? That's among the most preposterous I have read in a long time.

@dmarko says: "I know the british royal family attracts millions of tourists every year,

France attracts more visitor than Britain. France got rid of their royals, spectacularly, in the 18th century.

I recommend you do a little reading and research.

Should the Royal family not be forces do pubish an ROI on the tax-payers money? If they prove their marketing of Sweden to be an asset I think that's fine. However, I do not want to pay their million dollar house that is being renovated and ruining (closing off) Hagaparken in Stockholm. They can afford to pay their own renovation and also don't take the public land that so many people use. It will be like giving a quarter of Central Park for a new White House…

They are at best an amusing source of distraction from every day life I would just like the option of being able to invest that proportion of tax money which I pay that ends up in the Royal families pockets on sources of entertainment which I derive greater entertainment levels from. Now even a royalist should be able to understand that.

I'm an Aussie living in Denmark and I've come to see the value in having a monarchy and the symbol of the nation it represents. I *never* thought I'd live to see the day I'd say so, but there you go. A good royal family can have a far greater positive effect on a nation than any politician and for the few kroner it costs a year per person, I'm happy to pay it. Not sure about Sweden but I know expat friends here who groan on about the Danish monarchy have come here form republics they were desperate to get away from.

Askar:

Here in the USA we MUST elect a president every 4 years, the one we have now is the first one in decades that seems like a real human being. He didn't grow up a rich brat like some of them have. Bush we had for 8 years and still can't get rid of the crap that he created, wars for his ego and his father's, oil deals for the rich only, and more taxpayer money for his old boy's newtwork. And to top it off, he is still disliked by world leaders, he didn't put the USA in good light around the world. Most world leaders didn't like him at all. At least you have someone of morals (ex-Clinton here didn't have any) and intergity(excuse the spelling please). Yes I have very strong feelings about all the crap that is going on here in my government. I do write letters to the president and I have no hope that things will ever change. When the government gives billions in bailout money to corporate America exectutives and what do they do with it, buy $87,000.00 rugs for their offices (yes it did happen), go on 10 days vacations at $3,000.00 a night and that was the whole top brass that went, millions spent and the list goes on and on while the middle class here lose their homes, no medical at all even for seniors(I am one), children homeless while the rich play, and I live here in Chicago the MOST VIOLENT city in America. Right now I am very angry with corporate America and I have said to many people, Here in America we don't need some terrorist coming here to destroy us, we have our very own American terrorist destroying this country, it's called CORPORATE America, big businesses, banks, etc. They are doing a great job of bleeding this country dry. I think I should get off my soap box now. I like what I see and hear about of Sweden, even the royal family.

@Sherian Elizabeth,

The horror! Free elections! Where you must elect a president!

And your preferred system would would be that of...

Kim Jong Il? Fidel Castro. Stalin?

There is too much lunacy in this rant to take it point by point.

@Sherian Elizabeth,

Might I also add that the USA is not necessarily THE role model for the rest of the world. There are all sorts of different ways to organise a country.

Nobody visits Sweden to see any of the royals. The only economic boom they provide is for the tabloids and those idiotic celebrity picture magazines.

cogito: I might add that with what we have had here as presidents, I would take your royal family in a heartbeat. And yes it's really okay to be angry at my governament and coprporate businesses as I live here and you don't. And yes, Askar, the USA should not be held as a role model for the rest of world as it is all of the time. I think my government and it's officials have done real stupid things to make us look bad. As I said BUSH was and still is a terrible president and I for one am ashamed that he did the things that he did to this country all in the name of America. If you can find the new addition of the "Time magazine" just out. Maybe there is a chance that the mess we have will be cleaned up and it will be done by 3 woment. I have often thought if more women where running things this world won't be in the shape it's in now. After all most women don't promote violence and killing like men do. I am sick to death of wars and the killing of American service men and women. And this all started because Bush Jr just had to finish what Bush Sr didn't do. Egos aglore.

The rants of losers most of whom could not even find Sweden on a map, and expat moaners is not going to change the Swedish way of life or get rid of the Monarchy. Either live with, leave or STFU

@ Sherian Eliz. Are you taking anything for that Bush Derangement Syndrome?

@Angry Rick: STFU? Who appointed you Dictator?

Not any dictatorship - I'll leave that to you.

But you are certainly one of the losers I refer to

@Rick

"Loser"? I am actually considered quite successful. Unless you mean to say that any immigrant to Sweden is automatically a "loser."

It is hard to tell what you mean to say, as, with your usual eloquence, you seem to have no more cogent way of expressing your cause other than to mutter "idiot", "loser," or "STFU".

Or perhaps you have been in Sweden so long that this is now your normal level of discourse.

@ Rick

Right, that's it, Rick has spoken. I'm leaving my job today, breaking up with the Mrs, saying goodbye to my friends: I have to explain to them that it is not the proper thing for me, a lowly immigrant, to share their (most are Swedish) view that a monarchy in the modern age is ridiculous and not in line with modern Swedish society, perpuates class etc. I mean, according to you it is either: leave, STFU or live with it.

Is gonna be hard living with it as my Swedish family and friends, being republican, would think I am bonkers. Same for STFU. Leave it is then.

Rick, was the most ridiculous comment I've seen on The Local and, seeing the standard of comments on The Local at times, that is quite a feat!