House of Commons Amendments

Session 2012 - 13
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Other Bills before Parliament

523

House of Commons

Monday 26 November 2012

Consideration of Bill

Small Charitable Donations Bill, As Amended

New Clauses

Annual Report

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Treasury must, within 24 months of the Act coming into force and annually

thereafter, prepare a report on the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)

and lay it before the House of Commons.

(2)
Each such report must provide details of—

(a)
the number of charities benefiting from the GASDS in—

(i)
England;

(ii)
Wales;

(iii)
Scotland;

(iv)
Northern Ireland;

(b)
the number of charities benefiting from the GASDS that are—

(i)
registered with the Charity Commission, Office of the Scottish

Charity Regulator, or the Charity Commission for Northern

Ireland, as appropriate;

(ii)
exempt charities;

(iii)
excepted charities;

(c)
total expenditure on the GASDS; and

(d)
the level of identified fraudulent claims in the GASDS.’.

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
524

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

Post-legislative review

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Government shall, within 24 months of this Act coming into force,

undertake a review of the operation and administration of the Gift Aid Small

Donations Scheme and lay a report of the review before the House of Commons.’.

Complementary gift aid for small donations to small charities

Mark Durkan

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
Smaller charities, community amateur sports clubs or recently established

charities, which do not meet the eligibility criteria in section (1) shall be eligible

to apply to HM Revenue and Customs for complementary gift aid for small

donations.

(2)
“Small donations” for the purposes of complementary gift aid shall be as

provided for in section 3 and the Schedule.

(3)
That maximum donations limit for complementary gift aid shall be £5,000.

(4)
The “connected charities” conditions in sections 4 and 5 shall also apply for

charities making claims for complementary gift aid for small donations.

(5)

(a)
HM Revenue and Customs may stipulate the supporting verification it

may require from relevant agencies or authorities or designated persons

in respect of any claims for complementary gift aid for small donations

to small charities;

(b)
such agencies, authorities or designated persons may include charity

commissions, local government officers, police or police and crime

commissioners, members of relevant professional bodies or others

designated by devolved administrations in agreement with HM Revenue

and Customs for these purposes.

(6)
This section shall come into force on 6 April 2014.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This would provide for a separate scheme of supporting payments from HM Revenue and Customs,

in the spirit of gift aid, to smaller or newer charities including those formed in response to a

particular event.

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
525

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

4

Page  1,  line  17  [Clause  1],  leave out ‘maximum donations limit’ and insert ‘the

specified amount.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

3

Page  1,  line  19  [Clause  1],  leave out subsections (4) and (5).

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment removes the matching principle from the bill.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

23

Page  2,  line  1  [Clause  1],  leave out ‘double’ and insert ‘10 times’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment changes the gift aid “matching” rate from 2:1 to 10:1. In other words, to make a

claim in respect of £5,000 of small donations, a charity would need to make successful gift aid

claims in respect of £500 of donations, rather than £2,500.

Nigel Mills

1

Page  2,  line  1  [Clause  1],  leave out ‘double’ and insert ‘triple’.

Member’s explanatory statement

To increase the maximum claim to triple the amount of gift aid claimed each year.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

9

Page  2,  line  7  [Clause  1],  leave out subsection (6) and insert—

‘(6)
The “specified amount” for a charity for a tax year is (subject to section 2(1))—

(a)
£5,000 for a charity eligible for the full specified amount; or

(b)
£2,000 for a charity eligible for the reduced specified amount.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

8

Page  2,  line  11  [Clause  2],  leave out subsection (1) and insert—

‘(1)
A charity is an eligible charity for a tax year if—

(a)
it has made a successful gift aid exemption claim in at least three of the

previous seven years. In such cases, a charity will be eligible for the full

specified amount; or

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
526

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

(b)
it has made successful gift aid exemption claim in the previous year. In

such cases, a charity will be eligible for the reduced specified amount.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment introduces a probationary period for charities that do not have the claims history

required in subsection (1)(a) of this clause. It allows them to benefit from a reduced specified

amount until a claims history has been established. This also removes the requirement for a start-

up period.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

24

Page  2,  line  12  [Clause  2],  leave out ‘3 of the previous 7’ and insert ‘2 of the

previous 4’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment, and amendments 25 to 27, change the criteria for determining a charity’s

eligibility for the small donations scheme. Under this amendment, the charity must have made

successful gift aid claims in 2 out of the previous 4 tax years, rather than 3 out of the previous 7.

Dr Eilidh Whiteford

32

Page  2,  line  14  [Clause  2],  at end insert ‘or

(c)
the charity is a “small charity”;

(d)
the charity has been established for a specific event or project which has

concluded.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment extends the meaning of eligible charity to small charities and those established

for specific events or projects.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

25

Page  2,  line  16  [Clause  2],  leave out ‘3’ and insert ‘2’.

Member’s explanatory statement

Under clause 2(2), earlier gift aid claims are ignored for the purpose of the eligibility rules where

a charity doesn’t claim for 3 consecutive tax years. This amendment reduces that period to 2

consecutive tax years.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

26

Page  2,  line  22  [Clause  2],  leave out ‘2 tax years’ and insert ‘tax year’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment reduces the period for which a charity is not eligible where a penalty is imposed

on the charity. Under the amendment, the period will be the tax year the claim was made and the

next tax year (rather than that year and the next 2 tax years).

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

10

Page  2,  line  26  [Clause  2],  leave out paragraph (a).

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
527

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

27

Page  2,  line  26  [Clause  2],  leave out ‘3’ and insert ‘2’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment reduces the “start-up period” for a charity to the first period of 2 (rather than 3)

consecutive tax years during which it is at all times a charity.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

11

Page  3,  line  9  [Clause  4],  leave out paragraph (b) and insert—

‘(b)
are eligible for the same rate of specified amount (subject to section 2(1))

for the tax year.’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

5

Page  3,  line  13  [Clause  4],  leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

12

Page  3,  line  15  [Clause  4],  leave out paragraph (a) and insert—

‘(a)
the specified amount (subject to section 2(1)), divided by’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

6

Page  4,  line  27  [Clause  6],  leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

17

Page  4,  line  38  [Clause  6],  leave out paragraph (a) and insert—

‘(a)
the sum of the small donations that are made to the charity in the

community building in the tax year, or’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment seeks to remove the requirement that donations under the community buildings

amount can only be made by group members while the charity is running its charitable activities.

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
528

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

13

Page  4,  line  41  [Clause  6],  leave out paragraph (b) and insert—

‘(b)
if less, the specified amount (subject to section 2(1))’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

14

Page  4,  line  45  [Clause  6],  leave out paragraph (b) and insert—

‘(b)
if less, the specified amount (subject to section 2(1))’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

18

Page  5,  line  3  [Clause  6],  leave out ‘by group members while it is running

charitable activities in the buildings’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This is consequential on amendment 17.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

19

Page  5,  line  5  [Clause  6],  leave out subsection (6).

Member’s explanatory statement

This is consequential on amendment 17.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

20

Page  5  [Clause  7],  leave out lines 20 and 21.

Member’s explanatory statement

This is consequential on amendment 17.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

28

Page  5,  line  24  [Clause  7],  leave out ‘HMRC’ and insert ‘The Treasury’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment makes the Treasury, rather than HMRC, responsible for making orders under

clause 7(3).

Consideration of Bill: 26 November 2012
529

Small Charitable Donations Bill, continued

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

29

Page  6,  line  4  [Clause  8],  leave out ‘HMRC’ and insert ‘The Treasury’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment makes the Treasury, rather than HMRC, responsible for making orders under

clause 8(5).

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

15

Page  6,  line  20  [Clause  9],  leave out paragraph (a) and insert—

‘(a)
two or more charities (“connected eligible charities”) are connected with

one another in a tax year and are charities eligible for the same rate of the

specified amount (subject to section 2(1)) for the tax year, and’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

7

Page  6,  line  29  [Clause  9],  leave out ‘for the purposes of section 1(4)’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 3.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

16

Page  6,  line  37  [Clause  9],  leave out paragraph (b) and insert—

‘(b)
if less, the specified amount (subject to section 2(1))’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment is consequential on amendment 8.

Cathy Jamieson

Mr Gareth Thomas

21

Page  7,  line  10  [Clause  9],  at end add—

‘(8)
The Treasury must, within 24 months of this Act coming into force, prepare a

report assessing the impact of—

(a)
the connected charities provisions; and

(b)
the community buildings provisions


on the ability of charities to benefit from the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme

and lay it before the House of Commons.’.

Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer

30

Page  11,  line  5  [Clause  14],  at end insert—

‘(1A)
The Treasury may by order amend this Act for the purpose of—



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