One of the main reasons that the voluntary sector only claims a third of the Gift Aid available is because few people understand it well enough. This is not widely discussed, but in my experience it is true. When it comes to how tax relief actually works, the charity sector is an ocean of uncertainty,… Read more »
Posts By: David Ainsworth
Quick, savage cuts may be good for the economy but they will damage the voluntary sector
A few weeks ago, Nick Hurd, the new minister for civil society, toured Paddington Development Trust, a charity that provides community services. Afterwards he declared himself well satisfied. The trust, he said, was an “emblem of the big society in action”. Barely a fortnight later Hurd’s colleagues in the Communities and Local Government department stepped… Read more »
I’m willing to bet Nick Hurd a tenner the big society bank won’t open on time
The Cabinet Office recently laid out clear goals in its structural reform plan for what it will achieve, and when. The plan is a set of apparently cast-iron policy guarantees that the third sector can rely on. It includes 14 measures to bring about the prophesied big society, which if they are kept will have… Read more »
Amalgamating dormant funds is sensible, even if it means Aberdeen’s aged virgins lose out
Last week, Aberdeen City Council announced plans to amalgamate 41 charitable funds, including one established in 1634 for the benefit of “aged virgins” and another set up in 1718 to aid “persons deprived of the use of reason” – a brilliant phrase indicating that political correctness was alive and well in the 18th century. These… Read more »
HMRC doesn’t trust charities
It is difficult to believe that HM Revenue & Customs likes charities very much. Looking at the sector through the eyes of the taxman, charities are walking liabilities, profiting from generous tax breaks, but poorly-regulated and badly in need of a firm hand. The taxman has glimpsed in the current laws potential for charities to… Read more »
Can Gift Aid reform break out of this Sisyphean state?
When I was at school, an enthusiastic teacher decided to educate us in the Greek myths. One was the story of Sisyphus, who irritated Zeus, the king of the gods, and was condemned in return to push a rock up a hill for all eternity. Once the rock got to the top, it would always… Read more »
Small charities and staff pension schemes do not mix
Small charities and staff pension schemes do not seem to go well together. Too often, when combined, they lead to disaster, particularly for the trustees. A good example of this is Hirwaun YMCA, a small charity which, many years ago, hired two people without realising it was opening itself up to a large future pensions… Read more »
The Community Allowance scheme could lift many out of poverty. Stalling makes no sense
Several months ago Micheal Pyner, chair of the Development Trusts Association, took to the stage at the national conference of his organisation to launch a bitter polemic against the benefits system in the UK. The system in this country, he said, was not a stepping-stone out of poverty, but a trap which keeps people in…. Read more »
If you are offered a defined benefit pension, grab it
What would you say if I told you that there are thousands of charity employees out there who could boost by 20 per cent the amount given to them by their employer, without changing job or incurring any risk at all, but are choosing not to? You might doubt it, but it’s true. They’re the… Read more »
Charities could face tax bills that cancel out their relief
How much tax does the charity sector pay? It’s not meant to pay any, in theory. But in practice it pays a lot, it turns out, according to a very informal survey I carried out last week. Having spoken to a few charities’ finance directors, it appears many operational charities pay around a tenth of… Read more »