CTG Newsletter – 29 August 2017

Charities facing US tax exemption revocation by the IRS

CTG has been alerted to the fact that over 200 UK charities have had their US tax exemption revoked by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), without the IRS contacting them to make them aware of that fact. Other charities had their exemption withdrawn, but were later reinstated. Thomas Dick, of DLA Piper, has written a helpful article in the Tax Journal, explaining the consequences and how to deal with them, and we are grateful to him for giving us permission to reproduce it here. We are also grateful to CTG member BUFDG for sharing this with us.

If your charity has been affected by this action by the IRS, please let us know how you plan to respond at info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.

Is a CASC a charity (for tax purposes)?

Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) have access to a limited range of the tax reliefs which charities enjoy (including Gift Aid), but not others, including VAT reliefs relating to use of certain purchases for ‘relevant charitable purposes’.  In  Eynsham Cricket Club (TC06047) a CASC argued to the effect that it was a charity for tax purposes. While it was unsuccessful, the case suggests that other CASCs could in theory be defined as charities for tax purposes if their purposes were charitable enough, raising interesting questions going forward. CTG’s Technical Advisor, Graham Elliott, has written a new commentary on the implications of the case here.

Letter to the OTS from the Chancellor on SDLT

The Chancellor has written to the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) responding to their recommendations on simplifying the computation of corporation tax and stamp duty on paper documents which were made in their reports published in July 2017. Full details can be found here.

CTG Newsletter Archive

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

• CTG Newsletter – 22 August 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 17 August 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 9 August 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 27 July 2017
• CTG Newsletter – 20 July 2017

CTG Commentaries

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

• Is a CASC a Charity (for Tax Purposes)? (Graham Elliott) *NEW*
• Charity VAT Recovery – The Road Not Taken (Graham Elliott)
• Iberdrola VAT case – A dilution of Sveda? (Dermot Rafferty)
• VAT recovery for holding companies – MVM case and HMRC guidance (Dermot Rafferty)
• Professional negligence and failed tax avoidance schemes (Sonia Ferreira)
• Definition of a ‘sport’ for VAT purposes – new AG opinion (Graham Elliott)
• Business rates valuations for museums (Colin Hunter)
• First experience of submitting a Common Reporting Standard (CRS) return (CTG)
• Construction of Relevant Charitable Purpose (RCP) buildings – position of sub-contractors (Les Howard)
• Supplies to local authorities – Healthwatch Hampshire VAT case (Graham Elliott)
• Brockenhurst College VAT case – implications for charities (Graham Elliott)
• Filing charity trading subsidiary tax returns and charity accounts (Justin Bevan)
• Adecco appeal on the VAT treatment of temporary workers dismissed (Graham Elliott)
• AG Opinions on the VAT cost-sharing exemption – implications for charities (Graham Elliott)
• Have you paid enough tax to cover your Gift Aid donations? (Kevin Russell)
• Off-payroll working: Major changes from April 2017 (Susan Ball)
• Update on “Economic Activity” and the fate of the Lord Fisher test (Graham Elliott)
• 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)
• 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.

Website, newsletters and supporting CTG

Charity and Observer Members are reminded that their membership is on an organisational basis and that there is no limit of the number of subscribers to the website per organisation. If you think a colleague would benefit from getting access to the website and newsletters directly, please encourage them to register online at www.charitytaxgroup.org.uk/join-us/ selecting your organisation from the drop-down box.

CTG relies on donations from its charity members to fund the work it does on behalf of the sector. If your organisation has not yet made a contribution to our work in 2017, please consider doing so – further information and a donation form can be found here.

Consultations

Given that there are not many formal Government consultations open at present, CTG would like to use this opportunity to collect feedback from members on a range of topical issues.

The information you provide is crucial to informing our representations to Government so please share any information you can via the relevant consultation page on the CTG website or by e-mailing info@charitytaxgroup.org.uk.

• Assessment of recent Gift Aid changes (including Charities Online, new Gift Aid Declaration and new Retail Gift Aid methods)
• Insurance Premium Tax survey : what is the financial implication for your charity of the recent increase to 12%
• Discretionary Charity Business Rates Relief: have you experienced any changes in reliefs awarded by Local Authorities?
• Making Tax Digital: how many of your charity trading subsidiaries have a turnover that exceeds the VAT registration threshold [£85,000]?