Meghan Markle news: Biden victory could bring ‘significant changes’ to Sussexes’ US life | Royal | News (Reports)

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Meghan recently confirmed that she would be voting in the 2020 Presidential elections. Although she did not say who she would be voting for, royal fans have assumed she will be supporting the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. The Duchess of Sussex was vocal in her opposition to Donald Trump when he was running for President in 2016 and she claimed he was “misogynistic” and “divisive”.

While members of the Royal Family are not expected to vote in order to remain apolitical, Meghan and Harry’s decision to leave the royal frontline means they no longer represent the Queen.

As a US citizen, Meghan will be able to cast her vote but Harry will not — unlike his wife, he was not born in the States.

Still, the couple’s new lifestyle in the US could be seriously affected if Mr Biden takes the presidency.

Tax expert David Lesperance recently told Express.co.uk that a change in presidency would “absolutely” affect tax laws, and agreed that Meghan and Harry’s current tax situation could therefore change significantly in the event of a Democrat win.

Joe Biden, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Joe Biden, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Image: Getty)

Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for the 2020 Presidential race

Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee for the 2020 Presidential race (Image: Getty)

He said that if the Democrats won all three houses, at a minimum what they would promise is they would “increase capital gains tax to ordinary tax relief”.

Mr Lesperance continued: “If the Democrats ‘do a sweep’ there will be a jump in capital gains tax from that 23 percent up to the 47 percent.”

Capital gains tax is paying tax on the profit of the sale of the item — and Meghan and Harry have just bought their first house together in Santa Barbara, California.

They paid a whopping $14.7million (£11million) for a lavish mansion, with a $9.5million (£7million) mortgage.

READ MORE: Why famous Thorpe Park trip left William ‘embarrassed’ of Diana

Key US Presidential election dates  this year

Key US Presidential election dates this year (Image: Getty)

As the Tax Foundation website explained, Mr Biden’s plan would only affect “filers in the top long-term capital gains bracket”, but he would nearly double capital gains tax for big earners like the Sussexes.

However, Mr Lesperance pointed out: “President Biden could say ‘I’m thinking about this’, but any bill would have to start in the Senate or the House.

“If Biden wins and, with Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats will maintain control of the House of Representatives.

“But if Mitch McConnell maintains control of the Senate, there’s not going to be changes.

“So not only is it important that Biden would [win the election] but also that they would need the down ticket — they would need to take control of the House and take control over the Senate.”

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Biden seen chatting with Harry at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto

Biden seen chatting with Harry at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto (Image: Getty)

Meghan will be voting in this year's election

Meghan will be voting in this year’s election (Image: Getty)

Mr Biden also plans to raise the payroll tax to income over $400,000 (£318,000), which is likely to cover Meghan and Harry.

The Tax Foundation website claims that the former Vice President wants to revert the top individual income tax rate for taxable incomes above $400,000 from 37 percent to 39.6 percent.

Indeed, Meghan and Harry have recently signed on to the same high-profile speaking agency as Barack and Michelle Obama, meaning they are likely to earn more than $400,000 per year.

Some sources have claimed that Harry could already have made more than $750,000 (£596,800) for completing a speech at a JP Morgan event earlier this year.

Meghan and Harry decided to step back from the royal frontline and move to the US earlier this year

Meghan and Harry decided to step back from the royal frontline and move to the US earlier this year (Image: Getty)

Mark Borkowski, a PR expert even speculated recently that the pair could earn more than $1million (£795,000) for each occasion.

To repay their mortgage alone, typical interest rates from the Bank of America speculated they are likely to have to pay $480,000 (£364,520) per year over the next thirty years.

SmartAsset technology firm estimated that they will already have to pay $68,000 (£51,640) in property tax too.

With an estimated $3.3million (£2.51million) per year going towards security costs, the couple will already have a staggering bill to pay for their new US life even if Mr Biden fails to secure the election later this year.

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