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The voice of Scotland’s vibrant voluntary sector

Published by Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

TFN is published by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6BB. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Registration number SC003558.

The Gift Aid pledge in the chancellor’s budget lacks detail

This opinion piece is about 10 years old
 

John Low from the Charities Aid Foundation says there were positives for charities in the budget, but the government needs to provide more detail.

John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation
John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation

Following the chancellor’s fifth budget yesterday, I am pleased the government is committed to promoting and modernising Gift Aid, but we urgently need to see the detail. Changes must be far-sighted and ambitious, so Gift Aid is fit for the digital age and charities can benefit from this generous tax relief on millions of text, online and mobile donations.

It is good the Treasury wants to simplify benefits for donors. We need to make it as easy as possible for people to use the generous tax breaks for giving so their donations make the maximum difference to the causes we care about.

It is also positive that the government is focusing on donor behaviour in order to address barriers to Gift Aid take-up. They should build on the work of CAF and the Cabinet Office's behavioural insights team to identify the most effective ways of nudging donors to use Gift Aid, so that charities can promote the system as effectively as possible.

It’s great news the government has confirmed a 30% tax relief on social investment: the first time there has been a tax relief specifically for those who invest to produce social benefits. This has the potential to bring in millions of pounds in investment for charities and social enterprises.

We need to use this new tax relief to promote social investment as an everyday part of the financial services industry so we can grow the charities and social enterprises that can make such a huge difference to people across the country.