Charities are calling on the government to extend a VAT rebate scheme which they say could potentially save the sector up to £1.5bn a year, as well as reviewing both the small donations and corporate gift aid schemes
The last Autumn Statement introduced VAT rebates for hospices, search and rescue charities and air ambulances, but in a letter to the Chancellor ahead of next week’s Budget, the leaders of six umbrella charity groups say this move ‘only scratches the surface of irrecoverable VAT which is a massive burden on charities’.
The letter’s signatories – from the Charity Finance Group, National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Association of Charitable Foundations, Institute of Fundraising, the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) and the Small Charities Coalition – say the European Commission has made clear that it is within the power of the UK government to create a refund mechanism to tackle the problem which they say costs charities up to £1.5bn annually.
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