A BILL that the Government has said will "reduce the burden on
charities" passed through the House of Lords on Tuesday
evening.
The Small Charitable Donations Bill legislates for the Gift Aid
Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), which was announced by the
Chancellor, George Osborne, in last year's Budget (
News, 25 March 2011). It allows charities to claim "top-up
payments", similar to Gift Aid, on donations of £20 or less, up to
a total of £5000 a year per charity, without a need for donors to
fill in forms.
During the Bill's Third Reading in the House of Commons last
month, amendments that would have allowed the GASDS to apply to
non-cash payments, such as text messages, failed to get
through.
The Treasury did, however, agree to reduce the time a charity
had to have made Gift Aid declarations to be eligible for GASDS,
from four to two years; it also increased the matching ratio from
2:1 to 10:1, which means that a charity need have claimed only 10p
in Gift Aid to claim £1 from GASDS.
Gift Aid change. From April, churches and
charities will be required to submit Gift Aid claims to HMRC using
a new internet service, "Charities Online". This will replace the
current R68(i) Gift Aid and tax-repayments claims form.
HMRC is intending to write to charities next month to explain
the changes.
The director of Data Developments, Shelagh Ibbs, said: "This is
the most significant change to Gift Aid since it was introduced in
2000."
www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/online/