Charities Bill explained in less than 4 mins

Explained by Ivan at the Wheel (thanks to Harvey for sending it on)

The Dáil passed the Bill on Wednesday, 11 February, with one technical amendment being referred back to the Seanad for approval, which is scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, 17 February.  The Bill will then pass to the President for enactment and will be commenced in stages – with the Minister indicating that full implementation could take up to two years!  
 
Following enactment, the “Act” will then be gradually commenced in stages by the Minister, with each stage – we have been assured – being well flagged in advance.
 
Incredibly it is unlikely that there will be many significant implications for charities during 2009.

New Gift Aid Wording suggestion

I read this on the Freelance Fundraisers Jottings Blog:

Following the Government’s decision to allow charities to continue benefiting from Gift Aid at the pre-tax cut rate of 22p in the £1, the Institute of Fundraising, after consultation with the HMRC, has come up with the following text to go on all Gift Aid declarations:

“If you Gift-Aid your donation, ‘x charity’ will continue to receive an additional 28p. ‘X charity’ can claim Gift Aid tax relief of 25p on every pound you give. HM Revenue & Customs will also be operating transitional provisions for Gift Aid donations made from 6 April 2008 until 5 April 2011, paying a Government supplement of 3p on every pound you give.”

For any charities that had already reprinted their Gift Aid and other donation literature to take into account the new reduction in income tax rate, the HMRC have said it will be OK to continue using these, until existing supplies need to be replaced. There is no requirement to either shred or reprint any materials, which would only be a wasted cost to those charities.

It is important that all charities, no matter how large or small, should continue to make best use of this opportunity to continue to promote the use of Gift Aid and try to increase the % of donors taking advantage of if. In this way, they will lessen the impact of the reduction in income when the 3 year special provision comes to an end.

For more information about Gift Aid and how to make the most of it, check out the Institute of Fundraising’s special briefings at: www.tax-effective-giving.org.uk/downloads.html