CTG Newsletter – 26 January 2017

Register for the CTG Annual Conference (28 March 2017)

Financial Secretary to the Treasury (FST), Jane Ellison MP, will give the keynote speech at this year’s CTG Conference, which will take place at the Wellcome Trust, on 28 March 2017. Attendance at the event is free for charities and CTG Observer Members (up to two representatives per organisation). Almost 70 tickets have already been taken so register here today!

Gift Aid Donor Benefit consultation

Following consultation with members and attendance at an HM Treasury working group, CTG is finalising its response to the Gift Aid donor benefit consultation. The reform options under review include potential changes to the relevant values test:

1. A single threshold, at a value of between 10-15% of the donation (depending on whether a low value disregard is introduced)
2. Two thresholds: the current 25% on the first £100 of a donation, then 5% on any amount above that (or possibly lower if a low value disregard was introduced)
3. Three thresholds, identical to the current system but with the top band beginning earlier: at donations over £500 rather than £1,000

Full details of the consultation can be found here. CTG has also prepared a document which compares the impact of the different proposals.

While some charities have expressed support for a single threshold (as this is more generous than the current system for larger donations), the majority of charities appear to prefer the two-threshold system, which is at least as generous as the current system (in respect of gifts received under £100) but clearer and less likely to cause confusion than the three-threshold model. There has also been limited support for the  introduction of a low-value disregard, given concerns about administrative burden and potential abuse, and given that most small donations are already covered by the two threshold proposal anyway.

CTG is therefore proposing to respond to the consultation in support of the two threshold proposal, without the low value disregard. Please send any feedback on this proposal to info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.

Please also consider submitting your own response (you need not respond to all questions or if you agree with CTG you can endorse the response via e-mail) by contacting charitypolicy.taxteam@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk by 3 February 2017.

Following the consultation HMRC has committed to setting up a working group on the guidance and it is hoped that this should help to achieve greater clarity on the “in consequence test” and the valuation of benefits. CTG is working with HMRC to ensure that the working group includes representatives with practical Gift Aid experience and we would be delighted to hear from any members that would be interested in being involved.

Social Investment Tax Relief enlarged

HMRC has announced that legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2017 to introduce an enlarged Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) scheme. Further information is available here.

Gift Aid and Self Assessment

AccountingWEB has published a helpful Self Assessment summit webinar, focusing on Gift Aid. Further information is available here.

Brexit process

The Supreme Court has upheld the High Court’s judgment that an Act of Parliament is needed to trigger Article 50. The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2017 has now been presented to Parliament by the Government. The Bill is expected to have its Second Reading debate on Tuesday 31 January 2017 before being considered in Committee on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 February 2017. CTG is maintaining a watching brief on the implications of Brexit and has been approached by the Brexit teams in HMRC and HM Treasury to make representations on the priorities for charities. You can read a presentation by CTG Technical Advisor, Graham Elliott, prepared last year, here.

Consultations 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.

• Ongoing – Insurance Premium Tax survey (CTG)
• Ongoing – Discretionary Charity Business Rates Relief (CTG)
• 1 February 2017 – Draft Finance Bill 2017 clauses (HMRC)
• 3 February 2017 – Gift Aid donor benefits (HM Treasury)
• 3 February 2017 – Apprenticeship Levy Draft Regulations (HMRC)
• 16 February 2017 – Northern Ireland Review of Business Rates (Northern Ireland Executive)
• 7 March 2017 – Withdrawal of Extra Statutory Concessions (HMRC)
• 20 March 2017 – Review of VAT Rates (European Commission)

CTG also regular updates its VAT case law tracker.

CTG Newsletter Archive

Members can catch up on CTG’s recent newsletters using the links below:

• CTG Newsletter – 23 January 2016
• CTG Newsletter – 19 January 2016
• CTG Newsletter – 13 January 2016
• CTG Newsletter – 10 January 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 4 January 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 21 December 2016
• CTG Newsletter – 16 December 2016

CTG Commentaries

Read our expert commentary pieces and leave your comments and queries:

• Update on “Economic Activity” and the fate of the Lord Fisher test (Graham Elliott)
• Filing charity trading subsidiary tax returns and charity accounts (Justin Bevan)
• Update on the Adecco temporary workers VAT case (Deloitte)
• Durham Cathedral VAT case and Sveda – implications for charities (Graham Elliott)
• Hire fees for stalls at fairs – implications of the Kati Zombory-Moldovan case (Graham Elliott)
• Common Reporting Standard – Top 10 tips for charities (Alana Petraske)
• Charity Authorised Investment Fund (CAIF) launched (Grania Baird)
• Off-payroll working: Major changes from April 2017 (Susan Ball)
• Longridge on the Thames VAT case – implications for charities (Graham Elliott)
• Implications of Brexit for charity tax (John Hemming)
• Implications of the Hallé case for the philanthropic exemption (Graham Elliott)
• Helping you find your way – the new Charity Tax Group website (John Hemming)

Please contact us at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk if you would be interested in contributing a commentary piece.

Help to promote CTG in 2017

Do you have colleagues/friends in other charities that would benefit from receiving CTG’s newsletters? If so, please share this link to a page with full details about membership. Thank you again for supporting CTG in 2017.

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