Calls for lifetime legacies to be introduced into the UK giving sphere have been getting louder, as the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) weighs in to call for the Chancellor to commit to reviewing the scheme in the Budget.

STEP yesterday added its name to a lengthening list of organisations and individuals who believe that introducing lifetime legacies could unleash more high-end philanthropy in the UK. Their announcement of support for the scheme comes less than a week after New Philanthropy Capital published a report including lifetime legacies as one of the changes government could introduce in order to incentivise giving.

Lifetime legacies allow wealthy donors can retain some income from a gift promised to charity, such as artwork, shares etcetera, and are popular in the US, the only country whose tax system rewards and allows this kind of giving.

STEP director of philanthropy Keith Johnston suggested there is new urgency  in introducing lifetime legacies, which have long been toyed with in the halls of Treasury and beyond.

“[Lifetime legacies] are now essential giving the funding gap for charities,” he said. “We encourage the Chancellor to announce a review of lifetime legacies in his Budget.”

But while there is some enthusiasm for lifetime legacies in the sector, the government’s Giving Green Paper did not contain references to the mechanism. The Cabinet Office’s Sophia Oliver told a panel discussion on the paper last month that this was due to a lack of evidence base for the effectiveness of lifetime legacies in incentivising giving and their possible practical application in the UK. 

A working party on lifetime legacies, designed to advise the government on their possible implementation here, ended last year without making any concrete recommendations or developing robust data