HMRC gives zero-rate concession to pay-per-click charity ads

Fundraising | Vibeka Mair | 15 Jun 2010

HMRC has conceded that zero-rating VAT should apply to pay-per-click (PPC) charity advertisements, but will not budge on tax for search engine optimisation.

Although a charity advertisement placed on a third-party website attracts zero-rate relief, HMRC had taken the view that a PPC-sponsored link was not an advert itself but a means of access to the charity’s website, and excluded it from zero-rating.

But after lobbying from the charity sector, HMRC has conceded that PPC-sponsored links on search engine websites are adverts and qualify for zero-rating when supplied to a charity. Also, the supply of copyright and design services associated with such sponsored links will now fall within zero-rating.

However, HMRC still maintains that services supplied by copywriters and designers for the purpose of search engine optimisation, ie structuring a website so that it contains as many keywords as possible, do not qualify for relief. HMRC considers that these services entail the optimisation of the charity’s own website, and so are specifically excluded.

Directory: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.