To some ignorant people in later generations, the British aristocrats seemed to be fools, not knowing how to use these little tricks to evade inheritance tax, and they kept talking about how great America was.
Among the British aristocracy, more than 95% of the heirs have received elite education and graduated from prestigious universities. First of all, these people are not stupid!
Secondly, from the post-war period to the present, in just fifty years, how many aristocrats have lost their families because of inheritance tax? Are they all fools?
They don't avoid taxes?
In Britain, is there any way to avoid this aristocratic inheritance tax?
Yes...but...the cost of this method is sometimes even higher than the inheritance tax itself!
As for trusts and the like...
hehe……
Do some people think that the financial elites of Britain cannot find loopholes in materializing and then transferring their private property?
There is a rule in the British Empire that the private property of the nobility is inviolable. It is precisely because of this that they are so powerful that they cannot be eliminated, and so there is an inheritance tax...
If something is under the name of a noble, it is called private property and is inviolable!
But if it is not directly under the name of the noble, but separated by a layer, then it becomes property. These two things are not of the same nature.
…
But...after all, noble lords don't die every day. How many noble families are left in Britain now?
Therefore, this small department composed of descendants of aristocrats and financial elites, apart from their main business of collecting inheritance tax, mostly does small miscellaneous tasks on a daily basis.
For example...conflict mediation.
If there is a conflict between two noble families that needs to be reconciled, these are internal affairs of the nobility. Family disgrace should not be made public. Some things do not warrant going directly to court or reporting to the Queen. In the end, these internal affairs of the nobility that are not too big or too small will also be coordinated and handled by the Ministry of Noble Affairs.
Sort of like… a full-time mediator.
…
At this time, in the meeting room on the second floor of the Ministry of Noble Affairs, there was an old man with black hair, a strong face, wearing glasses and looking angry.
"I don't care! If you don't give me an explanation for this matter, I will take it to court and to the Queen!"
"Sir, calm down. Uh... your request is unprecedented. We have never experienced it before."
Hearing this title, the identity of the old man opposite is self-evident. To be called Your Excellency, one must be at least an earl. Ordinary earls dare not use the title of Your Excellency. Only those with a prominent family background like Allen are qualified.
In Britain, the dukes of the royal family are also called His Royal Highness, but few dukes outside like to be called His Royal Highness, and most of them are addressed with the honorific Your Excellency.
…
Hurt George, a commissioner of the Department of Noble Affairs and a descendant of the nobility who had dealt with Allen before, was the contact person for receiving the old man this time.
Hutt's official position has also been promoted, and...
As the only person in the Ministry of Noble Affairs who dares to confront the Earl of Carmarthen head-on, he is almost a "legendary figure" in the department!
He was standing at the gate of Hill Family Manor, being pointed at with a gun, yet he was able to escape from the hail of bullets!
The business capabilities are extremely professional!
So... this time, the department will receive the Duke of Marlborough's mediation business, and it will be Hutt, the director with the strongest business ability, who will personally handle it!
…
"No precedent? I can pass on my own title to whomever I want. They are all my sons. I don't even have this sovereignty?!"
After hearing what Hutt said, the old man, the Duke of Marlborough, became even angrier!
He was a duke, proud and arrogant, and with his distinguished family background, he was always arrogant in front of ordinary people. No one had ever dared to refute him like he did today!
"Your Excellency... Even if you bring the case to court, according to the rules of our Great Britain, the eldest son inherits the throne. You... cannot privately designate an heir when the eldest son has no fault or without the Queen's Royal Order."
"I'm the Duke and you're the Duke?!"
“Bang!”
When the Duke of Marlborough heard that Hutt was arguing with him about the law, he was so angry that he slapped the armrest of the sofa and stood up.
We are a great country in the United Kingdom, and we respect human relationships and laws. Now someone is actually explaining the law to him? !
"You mean... if my son dies, the title can be inherited by my younger son?"
"???"
Looking at the gloomy face of the Duke of Marlborough, Hutt was confused.
What is going on?
That's not what I meant!
"No, no, no... Your Excellency, that's not what I meant. This is the inheritance law clearly stated. I..."
"Stop! Just tell me what I should do to give the title to my youngest son!"
"Sir... I really can't give it to you. If it's anything else..."
"I don't want anything else but this dukedom. When I get old, I will pass it on to my youngest son! What should I do?!"
The Duke of Marlborough stared at Hutt and continued to question him.
"this……"
Hutt sighed. How could a mere director of the Department of Noble Affairs like him handle such matters?
Even the queen would have a headache over this matter!
"Three days! I'll wait for you for three days. If you don't give me an explanation within three days, I'll go to court. I want to see who can stop me!"
The Duke of Marlborough turned around and walked away angrily. He had just taken two steps, then, in front of Hutt's confused look, he turned around, picked up his top hat, put it on his head, knocked the ground hard with his cane twice, snorted coldly, and then walked out of the private room.
…
Hutt bent over and waited for the Duke of Marlborough to walk out of the private room. He tilted his head to take a look. After making sure that the old man had gone far away, he walked to the door and deliberately said loudly, "Sir, take care!"
"snort!"
Another cold snort came from afar.
Hutt curled his lips, snorted, shook his head, and imitated the old duke's walking posture, then turned around and staggered upstairs to his office.
…
"gentlemen……"
The secretary's sweet voice interrupted Hurt as he walked and thought.
Looking up, he saw that he had returned to the office. Hutt glanced at the female secretary and said softly, "Mary, go out first. I need to make a phone call."
"Who are you fighting with? And you want me to leave first~"
Feeling that the secretary's hand was about to touch him, Hutt grabbed Mary's hand, his face turned cold and serious, and said: "Get out...wait until I finish the call."
"Okay, okay... I'll go out first."
…
As the office door was closed, Hurt took out his notebook and pulled out a black and gold-stamped business card with a string of names written in large letters on it!
This is Butler Hutt’s personal business card!
He had just received instructions some time ago, saying that Master Allen asked him to pay attention to whether there was any happening in the Duke of Marlborough's family recently, and to report any problems at any time.
Now... he just happened to receive the Duke of Marlborough, and he had first-hand intelligence. Hutt was already impatiently preparing to call him to take credit.
He turned the old-fashioned landline phone and dialed Butler Hut's private number.
“Beep…”
The phone was answered on the third ring.
Hutt's waist bent instantly, and even though no one could see him now, he spoke in a slightly lower voice with a hint of flattery.
"Hello, this is Sir Huth's private phone number. I'm his assistant."
"Hey, hello, hello, I'm Hurt, Hurt George, the Ministry of Noble Affairs!"
"Okay Mr. Hurt, is there anything you need to convey?"
"Uh... Excuse me, is Butler Hut available to answer the phone now? He told me something a while ago, saying... I can contact him anytime if I have any questions. I just encountered a situation here, and I want to report to Butler Hut."
"Okay, wait a moment."
"Okay, okay, thank you!"
…
In early March, just as the hype over the assassination had died down, another piece of international news exploded in Europe.
Something happened to the famous tenor Domingo!
The BBC had been pursuing this news for a long time, but Allen launched a sneak attack and plucked the clues that the BBC had found first.
He first went to Los Angeles to rescue someone in November last year, and messed up the transnational service gang. Even the boss was arrested.
Although this did disrupt the BBC's plans a bit,... Alan and the others couldn't afford to offend them, so they could only treat it as... a coincidence.
Although some of the fallen women were rescued, the evil deeds committed by this international gang in the past and the huge network of relationships involved are still worth exposing.
The BBC was about to report the news before the Los Angeles Police Department had completed its investigation, but who knew that the Los Angeles earthquake would happen and the boss of the company would be stabbed.
All these things have happened. At this critical juncture, Boss Cha is the top star!
The BBC was not stupid enough to use this kind of news to suppress the news about its boss being stabbed. They simply waited and as soon as the news here died down, they broke the latest news, which did not affect the enthusiastic crowd at all.
This famous tenor, as a singer with some fame internationally, was a good breakthrough point, so...all the firepower was directed at him at the beginning.
However, in the lively news, there is an inconspicuous but very important piece of news mixed in and has not yet fully fermented.
The famous Duke of Marlborough and his son turned against each other and the two sides went to court!
As for the news about the little duke, there have been some tabloid reports in the past two days, saying that the reason why the little duke and his son fell out was because of his own misconduct and contamination with contraband, and so on.
Anyway... the so-called little duke is now too busy to do anything, and there is negative information about him everywhere.
…
James is the second son of the current Duke of Marlborough. He used to have an older brother, but... his brother died young.
He is already 39 years old this year. Theoretically speaking, as the first heir to the Dukedom, at his age, even if his father is alive and well, he should at least have a lower-level title.
For example, Diana's father, the late earl, had the title of viscount when he was young before he inherited the family's earl title.
Even if he doesn't have these, at least... he must be given the status of a formal heir, something like a little duke, and all these must be laid out for him by the old duke in public.
But James has none of these. Ever since his mother and father divorced, he is like the child of a stepmother, with neither his father nor his mother loving him.
Over the years, he has not enjoyed any of the conveniences provided by his family.
It's not that he is tough, but his father never gave him any preferential treatment. He only had a pitiful living allowance, which he paid to him on time every month.
But this little money...is not enough for James to squander.
He is the son of a duke, the future duke!
What can you do with such little money?
…
James sighed. His money this month was completely cut off by his father because his father wanted to force him to voluntarily give up his inheritance rights to the title and give it to his younger brother who was more than 30 years younger than him and whom he had never met!
How could James accept such a great humiliation!
Pushing open the door, James prepared to meet a friend. He wanted to find a lawyer who charged less but had strong professional capabilities. His father had already sued him!
…
"Who are you……"
As soon as he opened the door and saw the man in black standing at the door, James was a little confused and thought that this was someone sent by his father.
"Mr. James?"
"It's me..."
Hearing the other party's questioning tone, James breathed a sigh of relief. This was not someone from his dead father's side.
"My master invites you to come in and talk."
"Your master?"
Hearing this title, James became even more confused. This kind of servant... is rare nowadays!
The man in black smiled, turned slightly, and pointed to a Bentley among several cars parked in front of James' house.
"please!"
…
This Bentley was a style James had never seen before, with an extremely exaggerated interior space. Sitting on the right seat was a young man who looked... fierce, but somewhat familiar. The key point was... there was a not-too-big little tiger on his knees, and the two of them were having a lot of fun playing with it.
“Ouch!”
"Um?"
“Ouch!”
"Um?!"
Alan put his hand on Dawang's paw, and Dawang subconsciously raised his paw and put it on Alan's hand. The two of them... no, anyway, they were hitting each other back and forth, and no one wanted their hand to be pressed by the other. In the end, they got anxious, and when Alan just raised his hand to slap it, the car door opened and an old face stretched out in.
"Are you James?"
Seeing this, Alan laughed!
…
"Uh... it's me!"
James was confused. He felt that Allen looked very familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him for a while.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Alan and I live in Wales. Do you know me?"
"!!!"
James had just sat down and his left leg was not yet put into the car. When he heard the self-introduction, he shuddered subconsciously. He finally remembered why this person looked familiar!
It turned out to be the famous Earl of Carmarthen!
This is a ruthless man who dared to duel with others in the streets of London and even killed the opponent!
This person is very famous in the aristocratic circles, especially to their younger generation, he is very intimidating!
"Uh... Hello, sir. I don't know you..."
James subconsciously became scared, he was afraid that Allen was coming to challenge him to a duel!
"Haha, don't be afraid. I came to see you today on purpose. Is it convenient for us to chat?"
“…”
James' mouth corners were trembling. Can we talk?
How can I be inconvenienced by what you said?
"Your Excellency, if you have any instructions, please tell me..."
…