Government announces plans to encourage the use of Gift Aid
15 Apr 2014 11:23 AM
The government is
announcing plans to further support charitable giving via Gift
Aid.
As thousands of runners set off
this morning to raise millions of pounds for charity, the government is
announcing plans to further support charitable giving via Gift
Aid.
London marathon runners raise
around £50 million per year, consistently breaking fundraising records.
The government wants to make sure that Gift Aid is claimed on as many of these
donations, and other charitable fundraising, as possible.
The government will publish
a consultation
response giving details on how it will be made simpler for individuals
to add Gift Aid to their donations using intermediary organisations such as
mobile phone providers and charity giving websites.
Currently, the name and address
of the donor must be provided before donating. In the future, when donating
through intermediaries such as mobile phone and donation websites, these
details will be retained, making it easier to donate multiple times and to
different charities. This should increase the amount of income charities
receive.
This confirms that intermediary
organisations will be given a greater role in the administration of Gift Aid,
meaning mobile phone companies and charity giving websites can do even more to
help good causes. This is the first step towards giving intermediaries a
greater role in administering Gift Aid.
Financial Secretary to the
Treasury, Nicky Morgan said,
We want to ensure that charities
can maximise their charitable donations in every way possible. Gift Aid is a
vital tax relief for charities, and it is important that it works as
efficiently as possible to encourage as many donors to use it as
possible.
Having run the marathon last
year, I know how hard everyone has been training. I wish everyone the best of
luck for the weekend.
Nicky Morgan ran the London
Marathon in 2013, raising over £2,500 for charity, of which £550
came from Gift Aid.
This change to intermediaries
builds on budget announcements to encourage the use of Gift Aid. The government
will establish a new HMRC outreach team to encourage small charities to access
Gift Aid and help them with their claims as well as highlighting the other
benefits they can enjoy including our Gift Aid Small donations scheme and the
£2,000 off their National Insurance bill with the government’s
employment allowance.
A new working group, made up of
charities and representative bodies will look at revising the Gift Aid
declaration, which informs the donor about Gift Aid and ensures they’re
eligible, to make the content clearer and easier for the donor to understand.
It will also develop promotional material to encourage small charities to use
Gift Aid.
The government will also
undertake research into the behaviour of people who use Gift Aid to discover
what barriers exist that make it more difficult for people to use this tax
relief and consider the use of ‘nudge’ techniques to increase
take-up.