Budget updates
28th March 2008, 3:33 pm
HM Revenue and Customs is reassuring charities that there will be no change in how they reclaim Gift Aid, with the introduction of transitional relief. This extra money will be added automatically and not need to be reclaimed separately, although there will be some delay while the legislation behind the Budget goes through the parliamentary process.
Third Sector reports that umbrella bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland are pressuring their governments to match the Chancellor’s commitment to help small charities in England claim Gift Aid. This was part of the response to the Gift aid consultation, announced alongside the Budget, http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/News/790777/ (registration required).
Less welcome for many charities is the news that from April 2009 employment agencies will have to charge VAT on the full costs of supplying staff to an organisation, not just on their own admin charge. This could have a significant impact on voluntary organisations unable to claim back VAT fully if they use a lot of temporary or bank staff.