CTG Newsletter – 24 April 2017
CTG regional meetings
CTG is hosting a series of meetings for charities and advisers exploring recent policy developments and providing practical tax updates. These afternoon events are free and will be preceded by a sandwich lunch. The following meetings are planned, with further events to be confirmed for the autumn.
- 4 May – Leeds, in association with Wrigley Solicitors. Register here.
- 19 June – Birmingham, in association with BDO. Register here.
Probate fees dispute update – proposals scrapped
Plans to raise the legal fees payable after death have been scrapped ahead of the general election. The Ministry of Justice has said there is now not enough time for the legislation to go through Parliament. It remains to be seen whether the new Government will revisit this issue after the election. This is a welcome development as the additional costs could have resulted in reduced overall legacy values for charities. A summary of how this issue developed can be read here.
Future of tax lock questioned
Following a 2015 Conservative party manifesto pledge the Government made a commitment that the rates of Income Tax, National Insurance contributions and VAT may not increase for the duration of the Parliament (at that point expected to finish in 2020). This also included protection from removal for current VAT reduced rates and VAT zero rates. There has recently been speculation that the Conservative Party may drop this pledge in their forthcoming election manifesto. CTG will keep members updated on all relevant tax and charities policy commitments as the main parties manifestos are published.
Compliance checks: visits by agreement or advance notice – CC/FS3
HMRC has updated its factsheet on checks on records and assets when HMRC visit a business premises, specifically the paragraph ‘What if we have given you a notice of inspection and you fail to comply with it’ to explain what is meant by ‘a reasonable excuse’. Examples of reasonable excuse may include, when: you have been seriously ill; someone close to you has died; you have had a flood or a fire.
Effect of IR35 changes on charities
Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Baroness Neville-Rolfe has responded to a written question from Lord Mawson (Crossbench) relating to the impact on charities of having to comply with the requirements of new legislation regarding the tax treatment of off-payroll workers in the public sector (IR35 legislation). The question highlights the replacement to the Employment Status Indicator as a particular issue. You can read Susan Ball’s commentary on the recent changes here.
Apprenticeship training costs and provision for non-levy paying employers
Non-levy paying employers (including charities) will be able to share the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with Government – from May 2017, these organisations will pay 10% towards to the cost of apprenticeship training and government will pay the rest (90%), up to the funding band maximum. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has issued a statement noting that it had carefully considered the applications made in response to the recent procurement for apprenticeship training provision for non-levy-paying employers. This procurement was markedly oversubscribed, so ESFA has announced that it intends to pause the current competition. This will allow EFSA to review its approach to ensure that its achieve the right balance between stability of supply and promoting competition and choice for employers. In order to maintain stability in the system through the start of the next academic year, in the interim period EFSA will extend existing contracts held by all current providers until the end of December 2017 so long as they are on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. Extending existing providers contracts means employers can be confident in taking on new apprentices without disruption over the months ahead. Further information can be found here.
The register of Apprenticeship Training Providers includes a limited number of charities and NHS Foundation Trusts as employer providers (levy paying employers who are permitted to provide training to their own staff or to apprentices in their connected companies – they cannot deliver training to other unconnected organisations). CTG would welcome feedback from any charities registering to become employer providers on their experiences so far. Contact us at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.
Gift Aid practical issues working group
The next meeting of CTG’s Gift Aid practical issues working group is taking place on 27 April 2017, in London, and charities will be looking at the following issues:
- Review of charities’ “gone away” processess and associated data
- Discussion on the HMRC “confirmation statements” and liaison with HMRC and fundraising teams about the wording used in fundraising packs and online platforms
- Discussion about the implications of new GDPR rules for Gift Aid
- HMRC’s Gift Aid research project.
Working group meetings are for charities only and there are only a limited number of spaces remaining. If you would be interested in attending or knowing more about the group please contact us at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk. We are grateful to haysmacintyre for providing a room for this meeting.
Speech by the Minister for Civil Society
The Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, recently addressed the NCVO Annual Conference. Part of the speech focused on the need for charities to secure finance and resources to support new approaches, highlighting the potential of social investment and redirecting dormant assets.
Consultations and case law tracker
CTG will be preparing responses 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.
CTG’s VAT case law tracker can be accessed here.
CTG Newsletter Archive
Members can catch up on CTG’s recent newsletters using the links below:
CTG Commentaries
Read our expert commentary pieces and leave your comments and queries:
Please contact us at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk if you would be interested in contributing a commentary piece.
CTG website
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