CTG Newsletter – 5 August 2016

CTG writes to Minister of State

Chairman of the Charity Tax Group, John Hemming, has written to the Rt Hon Robert Halfon MP, Minister of State at the Department for Education and the Minister with responsibility for issues relating to further education and skills, which includes the Apprenticeship Levy.

In the letter, he details some of the key implications of the Apprenticeship Levy for the charity sector. In particular he highlights concerns over the extent to which the Levy will be able to be utilised by the sector in its current form, and donors’ concerns that their generosity might not end up used for the intended charitable purpose.

CTG also calls on the Government:

• to support accredited volunteer training and associated expenses
• to permit charities to assign to other charities any unused Levy credits
• to delay the April 2017 implementation date.

Guidance for trustees on taking legal action

The Charity Commission has published new guidance for trustees about when to take or defend legal action, Charities and litigation – a guide for trustees (CC38), in consultation with the Charity Law Association (CLA).

The guidance also indicates when trustees need to protect themselves against the adverse risk of costs and outlines alternative ways to resolve the issue in dispute that trustees should explore before legal action such as mediation and negotiation. For more details, click here.

Lobbying and Political Campaigning

The House of Lords Library has published a research briefing outlining the rules governing the ability of charities to engage in political activity and to campaign in relation to elections. This briefing was written in preparation for a debate in the House of Lords on 8 September 2016 on the role that charities, trade unions and civil society groupings play in a democracy, and the case for regulating lobbying activities.

Caithness RFC VAT case

The Upper Tribunal has released its judgment in the appeal by HMRC against the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision in Caithness Rugby Football Club.

The case concerns whether the construction of a village hall for the taxpayer was zero-rated as being intended to provide social or recreational facilities for the local community, or whether the absence of control or direction by the local community over the running of the facility precluded that. Further details are available here.