The Charity Tax Group (CTG) has responded to HMRC’s Call for Evidence on the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, highlighting its support for the Scheme, but suggesting a number of changes that would improve its administration, accessibility and take-up.

CTG’s response calls for:

• Renewed efforts (by both Government and sector bodies) to improve awareness of the Scheme, as well simpler more accessible guidance and claiming/recording processes for charities
• Relaxation of the Gift Aid history eligibility requirement, to improve take-up, particularly among smaller charities
• Review of the operation of the rules around community buildings and connected charities to assess whether they are operating effectively
• Consideration of extending the Scheme to modern equivalents to cash donations, including contactless payments, to ensure that the Scheme is future-proofed.

CTG Vice-Chairman, Richard Bray, commented: “The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is an important and valuable resource for fundraising charities that has enabled so called ‘top up claims’ on eligible cash donations where it is not possible or practical to collect a Gift Aid declaration. The increase in the threshold of eligible donations to £8,000, in April, is very welcome, but will not help to widen take-up of the Scheme, which has been an issue since it was set up. This review offers the Government to introduce measures that will increase the number of charities making use of the Scheme.  But this will require greater flexibility in the application of the eligibility criteria and less complexity in the administration of the Scheme”.

Notes for editors

The Charity Tax Group (CTG) has almost 500 members of all sizes representing all types of charitable activity. It was set up in 1982 to make representations to Government on charity taxation and it has since become the leading voice for the sector on this issue. CTG has persuaded successive Governments to introduce a range of tax reliefs and has also campaigned successfully to protect existing concessions, saving charities a considerable amount of money in the process.