Richard Bray was invited to address the All Party Parliamentary Group on Charities and Volunteering on 12 June 2018. The session was focused on things charities might be looking for in the next Budget, which will be later in the autumn. His comments are reproduced below.

---

My name is Richard Bray and I am Vice Chair of the Charity Tax Group.  My day job is as Finance Regulatory & Taxes Manager of Cancer Research UK.

A few words about The Charity Tax Group:

• We are run by volunteers who have first-hand experience of dealing with the nitty gritty of charity tax issues
• We have a proven track record of success. It is estimated conservatively that we have saved and safeguarded charities from over £8.3billion of tax in the past 35 years.
• So why have we been successful? Key factors have been that we are realistic rather than illusional and we have developed credibility in working positively with government rather than simply working against government or seeking to make a point.

So what is the context for the forthcoming Budget?

• Difficult economic environment for Government
• Brexit uncertainty and dare one say it preoccupation?
• Charities under fire

But because it might be difficult to do something does not mean that we do nothing. So I want look at three of CTG’s proposals for what I have termed housekeeping ideas, minor but valuable reforms and “bigger picture” changes.

Housekeeping.  As we all know it may not be exciting but it does matter and is more easy to achieve!

• Guidance: It is proving difficult to get timely guidance from an overstretched HMRC.  For example, we have had guidance this year on the VAT position of grants and contracts which has taken over two years to emerge.  We welcome that guidance in this key area but we would have welcomed it much earlier.  CTG would like to see a firm commitment to properly resource the preparation of well produced and timely guidance for charities.
• Gov.uk: This is very difficult to navigate for charities to get guidance in the first place.  CTG would like to see a firm commitment to make it more accessible and to use that hackneyed phrase to be more ‘user friendly’.
• Charities helpline: Like me, many of you may not like the phrase ‘Helpline’.  Whenever I need to ring the Charity Helpline a sense of what can only be called calm but begrudging acceptance comes over me.  It has to be done.  HMRC are increasingly reliant on tax payers doing their work for them and so the role of the helpline is crucial.  The HMRC Gift Aid Working Group of which I am a member has discussed a report based on research that concludes that donor and charity education about Gift Aid is crucial.  But the opening hours of the Charities Helpline are 8.00 am to 5.00 pm, Monday to Friday.  What is the problem with that? Well, it is the very time that most charity volunteers (including trustees) are at work.  CTG would like to see a greater commitment to see the helpline more “customer focused”, properly resourced and open beyond office hours only.

Minor but valuable reforms

• Charity Shop Gift Aid end of tax year letters:  Many charities are required to contact their supporters after the end of the tax year to let them know how much their goods have sold for before Gift Aid can be claimed.  The reason for this is to ensure that the supporter has paid sufficient tax to support that claim.  Whilst not disputing the concept you will appreciate goods in charity shops can be sold for very little.  Contacting supporters is not a cheap process in terms of time or money and, what is more, supporters understandably get very irked when they get a letter about what seems to them a trivial sum.  “A waste of a charity’s resources” is a common response and surely it’s a valid one!  We would like to see a de-minimus limit of at least £10 applied to this requirement. We are working with the Charity Retail Association and discussing this issue with HMRC but to us it does seem to be a no brainer!
• Charity trading: Charities have to undertake many trading activities through a subsidiary company.  There is a concession allowing small amounts of this trading to be routed via a charity.  This practical measure saves the administrative complexity and cost of smaller charities having to set up a subsidiary company.  The monetary limits for this have not changed for years and we would like to see them increased significantly now.
• The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS): The current limit to be eligible for the scheme is £20. Contactless payments are eligible.  As the limit for contactless payments is now £30 CTG would like to see the £20 threshold increased to £30. This was an idea put forward by one of our members at our recent Annual Conference.

I now want to look at three bigger ideas where I believe that the charity sector can be bold and innovative in its proposals to Government.

• Living Legacies – Under this proposal a donor makes an irrevocable commitment to give to charity.  They get a small income from that sum of money which is subject to tax and immediate, but discounted tax relief, on the capital sum. The benefits for charities are that it creates supporter engagement with a living person and the charity is guaranteed future income which is not the case with a legacy pledge. The donor benefits as he or she has financial security for life whilst having made a gift to charity.  It does require legislative change. CTG would like to see the Government taking this proposal seriously so that there is another and complimentary tool in the tax efficient giving tool kit.
• R&D incentives for medical research (which is obviously something close to my own heart!): In attempting to make the UK competitive on the international stage there has been a raft of tax incentives to encourage UK R&D.  But in this, the critical role of UK charities seems to have been overlooked.  In fact, the very reverse has been the case.  Many charities have been frustrated by the very narrow approach that HMRC has taken over the last couple of years to so called “RDEC claims”.  We felt encouraged to make them and then they have been largely rejected by HMRC. A holistic and imaginative approach to this area would surely look at incentivising every part of the research process. And with tax incentives for charity sponsored research the money will always be reinvested in research and not be available to be returned to shareholders as is the case with the commercial sector. It makes “economic” sense in relation to the Government’s current objectives in setting out its industrial strategy and its 2.4% of GDP commitment – as well as making “charity” sense.  CTG would like to see the government exploring with the sector led by the AMRC (The Association of Medical Research Charities) ways that charity sponsored research can be further stimulated and encouraged.
• Utilising the apprenticeship levy. Many larger charities have to pay the apprenticeship levy (0.5% of payroll costs) but have limited possibilities to make use of it.  There is a danger of this becoming just another tax that large charities have to pay.   Charity Volunteers are in need of training as much as any other group.  Many may be returning to work for a multitude of reasons. CTG would like to see the apprenticeship levy extended to cover accredited volunteer training.

But I would like to end with a very practical point.

• Making Tax Digital: MTD will be introduced for the submission of VAT returns from April 2019.  This is not a charity only issue.  But charities will be greatly impacted by it. We at CTG are working with HMRC very closely and constructively over this. And we are in favour of the concept.   But we remain deeply concerned about the timetable especially with the development of the required software (which will have to be purchased).  It is a crisis waiting to happen –especially for smaller charities whose resources are limited and whose VAT affairs can be complex.