£30m VAT concession to support churches is welcome, but full charity exemption is neededFriday 18 May
Charity Finance Group (CFG) and NCVO have stressed that Government must go further than the additional £30m for the Listed Places of Worship grant scheme and exempt all charities from the planned VAT imposition on alterations to listed buildings. Removing the zero rating will bring huge costs to charities operating in listed buildings, yet the scheme is only available for churches and other listed places of worship, with no equivalent fund in place to compensate other affected charities. |
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Blog post of the week
Loans and finance: how much does the sector borrow?
The Prime Minister lauched Big Society Capital in early April. David Kane, research officer at NCVO, takes a look at what we
know about existing finance arrangements in the sector and makes a judgement about the impact of Big Society Capital.
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NCVO member of the day
Sheppard Trust
A small charitable housing trust, provides warden-assisted sheltered housing for 29 elderly ladies on small fixed incomes.
Based in London.
www.sheppardtrust.org
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News
Charity law system gets a clean bill of healthWednesday 16 May
The Charities Act has largely proved to be a good piece of legislation, and the Charity Commission is doing a respectable job of supporting the sector despite its limited resources, according to an independent review being published today. The endorsement forms part of an advisory group review of the Charities Act 2006, which considers key areas of charity law and regulation including rules affecting trustees, public benefit, fundraising and the role of the Charity Commission. It suggests that the current charity law system in the UK is fit for purpose despite the difficult operating environment. |
Our response to the Queen's SpeechWednesday 9 May
Sir Stuart Etherington, our Chief Executive, said: "It is encouraging to see this measure nearing fruition after being announced in the 2011 Budget. The scheme should help to lighten the administrative load, particularly for smaller local charities. Obviously this is a very technical area, and we look forward to working with Government to ensure it delivers on its potential. "While the scheme is welcome, it sits uneasily against the backdrop of the tax relief cap on donations, which is projected to cost the voluntary sector £500 million. Rather than giving with one hand and taking with the other, the Government should take heed of the widespread opposition towards the cap and drop it as quickly as possible." |
