News

Cup Trust's income plummets from £78m to £5k1

Finance | Kirsty Weakley | 5 Feb 2013

The Cup Trust did not make any grants to charity in its last financial year and its income dropped to almost nothing.

At the end of last week the Cup Trust filed its annual update with the Charity Commission, reporting an income of £5,147 – below the £10,000 threshold to submit full accounts - and spending of £0 for the year ended 31 March 2012. This compares to 2011 when the income was £78.9m.

The charity was the subject of a Times report last week, which revealed that its donors were able to avoid £46m in tax. The Charity Commission has come under fire for not being able to take action against the charity for its lack of charitable activity in comparison to its income. The regulator said after The Times report appeared that it is "not comfortable with the charity’s set-up", but that "whatever the motives for creating the Cup Trust, we were forced to conclude that we could not remove it, as the Cup Trust is legally structured as a charity".

The Cup Trust's 2011 accounts indicated that it made grants totalling £55,000 to unnamed charities in 2011 and that it had set aside £80,000 to make grants to charities in 2012.  But it actually spent £0 in 2012, according to the update filed with the Commission.

The organisation has filed gift aid claims with HMRC totalling £46.4m - £19.1m in 2011 and £24.3m in 2010. And in its 2011 accounts, it said that: “Having considered expert legal advice from counsel, the trustee is of the opinion that these claims are more than likely to succeed.”

HMRC states on its website that gift aid repayments should be made “within four to five weeks” of claims being lodged. HMRC will not say whether it has paid these claims, stating it will not comment on specific cases.

Charities with an income less than £10,000 do not have to file their annual report and accounts with the Charity Commission but they still have to produce them. The Cup Trust has not responded to civilsociety.co.uk’s request to see its latest accounts.

Directory: Charity Commission | HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)