Madrid, July 18 (IANS/EFE) Spain's King Juan Carlos decided to cut his salary and that of Crown Prince Felipe by 7.1 percent in line with government-mandated reductions in pay for civil servants, the royal household said Tuesday.
The monarch's annual pre-tax income will fall by 20,910 euros ($25,543) and his son's remuneration is set to decline by half that amount.
The palace chief of staff, who holds ministerial rank, will also see his salary reduced by 7.1 percent.
The remaining officials of the royal household, like other employees of the Spanish government, are to lose their traditional Christmas bonus, one of the measures in the austerity package announced last week by the administration of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
With the salary cuts, the total appropriation for the royal household will fall to 8.16 million euros ($9.97 million), a savings of more than 265,000 euros compared with 2011.
Spain's fourth austerity package in seven months is aimed at achieving 65 billion euros ($80 billion) in savings to meet a European Union-mandated budget deficit target, Rajoy said last Wednesday in an address to Parliament.
The Spanish economy has been battered by the global recession and the collapse of a massive real-estate bubble, which has left many banks saddled with toxic property assets.
Overall unemployment stands at more than 24 percent, while Spain's young people are facing a jobless rate of 50 percent.
--IANS/EFE
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