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NCVO campaign on charity donations
NCVO’s campaign Give it back George - Drop the charity tax is covered prominently on the front page of today’s Daily Mail.
Under a headline reading Give it back, George! 800 furious charities say Osborne’s budget will lose them millions as wealthy donors are branded tax dodgers, the report states that “Charities went to war with Downing Street last night after wealthy donors were branded tax dodgers. No 10 said many are giving money to bogus charities, some of them abroad, to claim income tax relief and wipe out their liabilities.
But furious charities said the accusations – for which Downing Street has produced no evidence – were a desperate attempt to justify George Osborne’s plan to cap tax relief on donations.”
BBC news reporting that David Cameron has said he will listen “very sympathetically” to concerns from charities about the impact of a planned cap on tax relief on donations.
Philanthropists have criticised plans to put an annual limit on tax reliefs, including for charitable donations, saying it will deter giving.
The PM said use of donations to cut tax bills must be curbed but the “right balance” could be struck.
Labour said the plan is “another nail in the coffin” of the Big Society.
This row rumbles on with various newspapers printing stories of unrest over the weekend, including the Mail, which reported that millionaire Lord Fink, described as one of the country’s most generous supporters of good causes, had said the plans would inevitable reduce the value of donations.
Lord Fink is said to have told the Sunday Times: ‘If you have to pay out of your capital the tax on your income you give, it will put people off.’
Senior Conservative backbencher Zac Goldsmith was also reported to be ‘ashamed’ that his party appeared to have ‘declared war’ on the very people who should be at the heart of the Government’s Big Society project.
Reports on twitter, that following this week’s u-turns on Budget decisions regarding the pasty tax and the caravan tax, Osborne has now decided to reverse the charity tax as well.
Now on BBC as well Tax relief limit on charity to be axed in fresh U-turn
Chancellor George Osborne has dropped plans to limit tax relief on charitable giving announced in March’s Budget following protests from charities.
There will be no limit - as existed before the Budget - on what an individual can donate to charity and offset against their tax liability.
A spokesman said the Treasury had listened to the views of charities.