Give it Back, George

Thursday 5 April 2012

The RCM is backing a campaign to protect tax relief for large-scale donations to charities.

In his recent budget George Osborne announced that there would be a cap on tax relief for large-scale donations: from next April major donors will only be able to claim tax relief on the first £50,000 of their gift, whereas previously there was no cap and therefore philanthropists felt encouraged to give generously.

Professor Colin Lawson, Director of the RCM, writes:

“The Royal College of Music is proud to have been supported by great philanthropists since its very foundation.  Today, our family of valued donors is thriving and we work hard to make sure their kind gifts are stewarded in a thorough and meaningful way – this includes advising them on how to give in the most tax-effective manner.  The proposed cap on tax relief for major donations causes us real concern as it takes away a significant incentive from some of our most important donors and we fear the possibility of diminished gifts from them as a result.”

A number of leading charities are a supporting a campaign called “Give it Back, George!”, aiming to remove the cap. Anyone wishing to back the campaign should visit the website http://giveitbackgeorge.org/back-the-campaign/, where they can add their names to a lengthy list of individuals and organisations, including Cancer Research UK, the Samaritans, Universities UK and the Association of British Orchestras.