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Why the Tax Man parts with money
Covenanting with this charity explained
The Inland Revenue offices in Merseyside are not wholly occupied by grasping
individuals, as Alex May, the volunteer who acts as Honorary Covenant Administrator for Prostate
Research Campaign UK, has discovered. Indeed Alex has found that they very speedily send us
a cheque when he applies to them for a refund of tax on donations which supporters have made under
the terms of a Deed of Covenant.
Getting the tax man
to add to your generosity, without costing you anything, is a straight forward matter. If
you will sign a form pledging a specific amount which can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually
to our charity then, providing that the pledge covers a period of not less than four years (or
one's lifetime if shorter) the rest is easy. The form (i.e. the Deed of Covenant) can be
obtained from Prostate Research Campaign and accompanying it is a Banker's Order form which donors
can complete to enable payments to be made under the terms of the Deed. There is one proviso
which is that the donor must be paying UK tax on at least some of his or her income.
The Inland Revenue will, once our claim is made, give us the tax which you have
previously suffered on the sum donated to our charity. To take an example: if you covenant
£5 a month then we can recover income tax at 23% (which, in this case would be £17.93 a year) so
your gift would be worth £77.93 a year and over the four year period of the Deed the gift would
be worth £311.72 to us. Of course there are correspondingly greater sums obtainable from
larger donations and more for the tax man to "cough up".
Please send a stamped addressed envelope to Prostate Research Campaign UK with
your request for a Covenant Form. Alex May, Honorary Covenant Administrator for Prostate
Research Campaign UK.
Webmaster's note: Since this article was written in 1999, the Deed
of Covenant system has been replaced by the Gift Aid Declaration which lasts
indefinitely. Please write to us or use the e-mail form on the Help Prostate
Research NOW page to request a Gift Aid declaration form which should be signed and returned
to our office after completion.
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