CTG Newsletter – 18 November 2016

Gift Aid Declarations

It has come to our attention that a number of charities have not updated online Gift Aid Declarations in line with the new requirements from April 2016. This includes web pages and links to old PDFs, which may have been forgotten, but are still accessible by search engines or old weblinks. If you notice incorrect Gift Aid Declarations, please do notify the charity concerned or flag it to CTG so we can do so on your behalf.

Under the current rules charities must explain that if the donor pays less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax in the current tax year than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all that person’s donations it is the donor’s responsibility to pay any difference. There is also no longer a requirement to make reference to Council Tax and VAT.

The HMRC website contains model Gift Aid declarations for single and multiple gifts and the wording for sponsored events. However, it is important to note that these are simply models – further information on the requirements of a Gift Aid Declaration can be found here.

The new Gift Aid Declaration wording was first introduced just over a year ago and we would welcome feedback from members on the impact (both positive and negative), if any, of the change for both donors and your charity. Please send any thoughts to info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.

Apprenticeship Levy – devolved administrations update

The UK Government has agreed a funding deal for the upcoming apprenticeship levy for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The devolved administrations will decide how to allocate this funding to their devolved responsibilities.

Scotland

A summary of responses to the Consultation on the Scottish Government Response to the Introduction of the UK Apprenticeship Levy has been published. Organisations in Scotland with a paybill of £3m+ will be required to pay the Apprenticeship Levy but there will not be an equivalent digital account/training funds as in England. This is purely a summary of responses document and there is no indication of the Scottish Government’s final position. However it is noted that “all of the consultation findings, and the detailed material within the full report and the individual responses, will help to inform the Scottish Government’s consideration of the way forward for the use of Apprenticeship Levy funding in Scotland”.

Wales

The Welsh Government has said that it has no plans to introduce a digital voucher system. Welsh Skills Minister Julie James has also made it clear that she believes the Levy will bring no new money to Wales, when offset against the loss of apprenticeship funding elsewhere. Instead, the Welsh Government believes that the Apprenticeship Levy will cut across its distinct approach to apprenticeships, and will simply act as another employment tax.

Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly has yet to decide how the levy funding should be used or distributed.

Further details on all these developments can be found here.

Autumn Statement – 23 November 2016

The Chancellor will publish his Autumn Statement on Wednesday. CTG will circulate a summary that afternoon following a briefing with HM Treasury officials, but you can keep an eye on developments on Twitter by following @CharityTaxGroup.

In a submission in advance of the 2016 Autumn Statement, CTG outlined a number of policy areas on which the Government could take action to improve the tax position of charities.

OTS report on NICS and Income Tax alignment

In a new report the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has called for National Insurance contributions (NICs) and Income Tax to be brought closer together to create a simpler and fairer system for business and taxpayers. Further information can be found here.

Small Charitable Donations Bill

The Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill 2016-17 has now finished its passage through the House of Commons, with its Report Stage and Third Reading on 15 November 2016. While a number of amendments and new clauses were tabled, all of them were either withdrawn or voted down. The Bill has now moved to the House of Lords, where it received its first reading on 16 November 2016.

Consultations tracker

CTG will be considering responding to a number of important consultations over the next few months. Our consultation responses rely on input from members and we would encourage you to send us your thoughts, and where relevant submit your own consultation response. The deadlines for forthcoming consultations are outlined below. Please send your feedback via the relevant consultation page on the CTG website or to info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.