George Osborne has announced in the Autumn Statement today that the government will continue and extend the review of donor benefits that was launched in the Budget 2014.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that the review will be extended to include consideration of the rules for claiming gift aid on membership and entrance fees.
In the Budget 2014, Osborne had announced that the government would be reviewing the rules around the benefits charities can give to donors.
Current rules mean that donors can only receive benefits worth 5 per cent of the value of their donation, or £2,500, whichever is lower, in exchange for a donation.
A donor receives a benefit if they receive any item as a result of their donation, ranging from cheap or free tickets to a token such as a poppy.
Osborne said an update on this will be provided at the Budget 2015, and that the government will work with the charity sector on updating the guidance and making it easier to understand.
Gift aid digital
It was also announced in today’s Autumn Statement that the government will publish draft legislation on digital gift aid. The legislation will allow regulations to be made which give intermediaries a greater role in administering gift aid.
In its response to the gift aid digital consultation in April, the treasury confirmed that the government will work with the charity sector and behavioural insights unit in the Cabinet Office to amend the model gift aid declaration to make it more user-friendly.
It also said it would enable a single declaration to apply to all donations made via a non-charity intermediary, such as JustGiving.
Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Institute of Fundraising, responded to today’s Autumn Statement. He said: “The ongoing work following the Gift Aid and Digital Giving consultation is progressing and we will continue to work with the Treasury and HMRC to put forward our views on how this can work best for charities and donors to maximise uptake on eligible donations.”
He went on to say that the IoF will be working closely on the review of benefits for Gift Aid to see how this can be most effective.
