Philanthropy on Darling Budget agenda
Wealthy individuals and corporates that fund charities may see their contributions classified as tax-free donations rather than sponsorship, as Alistair Darling prepares to use the Budget to promote philanthropy
Earlier this month, the chancellor said he wanted to ‘encourage people who
are in a position to do so to donate more to the public good’, and advisers
believe reclassifying sponsorship rules for charities is an obvious reform to
make.
‘A contribution made to a charity in return for a company’s name being
associated with the charity is treated as sponsorship and taxed as services
income.
This sponsorship could be treated as a tax-free donation instead,’ said Pesh
Framjee, head of Deloitte’s not-for-profit unit.
Any moves to encourage philanthropy will be welcomed by organisations such as
the UN, which has had to curtail food aid because of rising food prices.