Monthly Archives: September 2011

Experts slam tax relief proposals

There are a lot of consultations taking place at the moment into charity tax reliefs: inheritance tax relief, VAT relief on shared services, relief on gifts of pre-eminent works of art. There seems to be a common thread among all of them. In all cases, sector experts think the proposals are rubbish. Inheritance tax relief… Read more »

Why do some smart people lose their faculties when talking about charities?

Sometimes, it seems that the topic of charity makes even intelligent people say stupid things. The other day I had dinner with a friend of mine who I admire very much. He’s a very smart bloke, he’s made a lot of money, and he’s generous to good causes. We talked a bit about my work,… Read more »

Something needs to be done about charity clothing collections before it’s too late

So it seems that chugging got some time off this week as the most publicly-derided form of fundraising. Research by the British Heart Foundation about where exactly the clothes people donate in charity bags end up – mostly sold aboard as rag, apparently – got nationwide coverage and ignited some serious debate. There are a… Read more »

Let charities run local newspapers

This week, a group of academics, journalists and charities proposed that charities should run local newspapers.At the moment, it’s far from clear whether a newspaper can be a charity. Many legal experts think so. The Charity Commission is sceptical. The new proposals ask the government to make it easier for them to do so.Providing a… Read more »