UPDATE - Issue 05 - March 2000
No Fooling - An April Bonanza
The Chancellor of the Exchequer will add at least 23% to any gifts you make to Prostate Research Campaign UK - or indeed to any registered charity - under a new scheme beginning in April.
The Chancellor is planning to reform the Gift Aid system, which currently is available on one-off donations of £250 or more. (At the moment we cannot reclaim the income tax you suffered on single sums donated if they were less than £250.)
In this year's Budget Mr Brown will make charitable gifts of any size effectively tax free. Charities (and that includes Prostate Research Campaign UK) will be able to reclaim 23% on gifts received from basic-rate taxpayers and 40% from higher earners. A £20 gift will therefore be worth £24.60 to us and £28 from a higher-rate taxpayer.
Anyone who wants to donate shares, rather than money, will also benefit from changes due in the Budget. Under existing rules, you are liable for Capital Gains tax on profit on the shares. The new scheme will, apparently, also give you extra income tax relief. If, for example, you give £1,000 worth of shares to Prostate Research Campaign UK you will get an extra £1,000 added to your annual tax-free allowance.
Exactly how all this will work will, presumably, be made clear in the Budget but it certainly looks as though the tax recoverable should be of enormous help to charities.