Chancellor waives VAT on X Factor winner’s charity single

05 Dec 2016 News

VAT raised through sales of the X Factor’s winner’s single will be donated to two children’s charities, chancellor Philip Hammond said yesterday.

The announcement means that children’s hospice charity Shooting Star Chase and Together for Short Lives, a charity that works to support children who are expected to have short lives, will both now benefit from 100 per cent of the sales from the charity single.

This year is the sixth year that the government has waived the VAT from the winner’s single. It has also previously waived VAT on the Save the Children single, Band Aid Ebola single, 2011’s Military Wives Choir single, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake appeal single.

In a statement yesterday, Hammond said both charities did “tremendous work supporting children with life-limiting medical conditions and the family members who care for them”.

“I’m delighted to be able to help by handing back the VAT on sales of the single to ensure that as much money as possible goes to supporting these fantastic charities,” he said.

'Increasingly difficult'

In a statement to Civil Society News, David Burland, chief executive at Shooting Star Chase, said: "It costs Shooting Star Chase £10m every year to provide vital care at our hospices and in families' homes across London and Surrey, and the charity receives no guaranteed government funding. Fundraising in today’s economic climate is proving increasingly difficult, so we are not only extremely grateful to our friends at X Factor for making us a joint beneficiary of charity single, but also to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, for supporting our work with his VAT pledge.

"The donation of an extra 20 per cent of the funds raised from the single will make a huge difference to the children with life-limiting conditions we care for, and will help Shooting Star Chase give them, and their families, a Christmas to remember.”

A spokeswoman for Together for Short Lives told Civil Society News the charity was “thrilled to benefit from the X Factor Charity Single again this year”.

“It’s a lovely early Christmas present for our work with seriously ill children and their families. And it’s brilliant to hear the news that the Chancellor, Philip Hammond is generously waiving the VAT on profits of The X Factor Charity Single,” she said. “That’s something that successive Chancellors have done for the past 6 years. Every penny makes a difference and it’s an extra boost for our work, speaking out for seriously ill children and families and connecting them with children’s palliative care and hospice services across the UK.”

The treasury has not revealed how much is expected to be raised through the VAT waver.

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