 經濟危機 英國女王也受窮
[ 2009-07-22 13:46 ]
The Queen's reserve of public funds is set to run out by 2012, according to Buckingham Palace accounts published today, raising expectations that the government will be asked to increase the civil list, which pays for the running of the royal household. 據今天公布的白金漢宮賬戶顯示，英國女王的公共儲備基金到2012年將告罄；這讓各方預期，王室將要求英國政府增加用來支付王室日常開支的王室費。
The Queen has used up ￡6m from the cash reserve to boost the civil list. The amount is the largest ever drawn from the reserve of surplus cash from the list. 女王已經從現金儲備中提取6百萬英鎊以充實王室費。該數額是有史以來從王室費儲備金中提取的最大一筆現金。
Palace officials have complained that they lack funds to properly maintain some royal residences. They once claimed that part of the facade of Buckingham Palace was in such bad repair that a chunk fell off, narrowly missing Princess Anne. 白金漢宮官員抱怨說，他們缺乏資金妥善維護某些皇家住宅。他們曾聲稱，白金漢宮的某部分外墻年久失修，以至于一大塊墻面掉落下來，險些砸到安妮公主。
The total cost to the taxpayer of keeping the monarchy increased by ￡1.5m to ￡41.5m during the 2008-09 financial year – effectively 69p per British person last year and an increase of 3p on the previous year. The civil list was ￡13.9m last year, 43% of which came from the Queen's reserve. 在2008-2009財政年度內，英國納稅人奉養英國王室的總開支增加了150萬英鎊，達4150萬英鎊——實際上相當于去年每個英國人承擔了69便士，比上一年增加了3便士。去年王室費達1390萬英鎊，其中43%來自女王的公共儲備基金。
If she continues drawing on the reserve at the current rate, she will run out of funds by 2012 – the year of her diamond jubilee. 如果她繼續按目前的速度提取儲備金的話，她將在2012年——她的鉆石婚紀念那年——用完儲備基金。
The fund has gone down from ￡35m to ￡21m over the last decade. 該儲備基金在過去十年中已經從3500萬英鎊下降到2100萬英鎊。
The current deal – in which the Queen gets ￡7.9m a year – was agreed by Sir John Major in 1990. The arrangement expires in 2010.目前，在1990年經約翰?梅杰爵士（Sir John Major）同意，英國女王每年可獲得790萬英鎊。而這項安排將于2010年到期。
（來源：網絡 英語點津Jennifer編輯）
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