Barb
8 Jan 2013

The problem doesn't lie in whether churches provide food banks or not. The real problem, carefully avoided in all discussions, is that Gift Aid (that may follow the charitable status) is, in fiscal terms, a tax that is diverted from the state use (should read: taking care of everybody regardless if they are member of a given church/religious institution or not) to the discreet use of a charity (in this case: a church/mosque/other religious instituion) that, as a rule, have an exclusivist character. Yes, I know, as a die-hard atheist or catholic or whatever else could go to my local pentecostal church and use their food bank but trust me when I say I won't. And this is the problem because partof the tax money has already been used to subsidise this particular organisation instead of a local state-run school, hospital or the police. Whatever they say, a religious institution is not the same thing as a cancer or environmental charity.
So the real issue is whether HMRC should take this point into consideration when recognising a charity for Gift Aid purposes or not - shifting responsibility from CC on to taxmen would effectively disolve the whole discussion.

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Anon
Trustee
10 Jan 2013
Response to [Barb]

I disagree Gift Aid is not "a tax that is diverted from the state use ... to the discreet use of a charity"

Gift Aid is government accepting that if an individual has renounced part of their income they should not be taxed on the amount from which they have had no personal benefit. (I paraphrase from a quote regarding the tax relief debate last year).

As a charity trustee, the problem with the public benefit test is that it is very subjective. Most charities benefit a small sector of society whether that be:
- RSPCA
- Operas and Theatres
- Private schools
- Religious charities.

All of those sectors have people questioning their value to society. The strength of charity law is that a broad swathe of organisations are recognised as bringing benefit to society.

It starts to fall down when the "militant-atheists" object to religious organisations being recognised or the "anti-elitists" object to private schools etc.

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Andrew Ross
2 Jan 2013

It is good to hear of someone having the b***s to speak out against the 'creeping secularism in society' in this country - a rather taboo subject and very off limits for the PC conscious!

Christianity is under threat of marginalisation, make no mistake. But as the backbone of our society I salute anyone proud enough to fight for it. Well done that man!

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Helen Cryer
26 Dec 2012

I am very thankful for these people in this world. I congratulate them on their energy and commitment in helping my mother through these recent floods down in Cornwall. They took her in and provided warmth and food in a very difficult time when her house was flooded, to the loss of a number of items and leaving it in an appaling state of affairs. They sent a team of helpers to clear it up and set her up again. They were going all over the place and helping others in the same plight. Sandbags galore seem to be coming out as well. I asked one of them and he told me he'd been up all night filling them with sand. Many thanks to these people for all their help in this difficult time.

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Paddy
20 Dec 2012

*sigh* Yet another case of some religious people failing to understand the very obvious difference between being discriminated against and simply being subject to the same rules as everyone else.

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