In today's Budget speech the Government announced a number of significant changes to Gift Aid and the taxation of donations to encourage philanthropy and reduce the burden on claiming Gift Aid, especially for smaller charities.
These include:
1. The rate of inheritance tax on estates leaving more than 10% to charity will be reduced from 40% to 36%.
2. The Gift Aid benefit limited will be increased from April 2011 from £500 to £2500 to allow for more generous gifts to be given to donors in thanks for their donations.
3. A new online system will be put in place to allow online filing of Gift Aid claims.
4. A small donations scheme will be introduced that will allow charities to claim Gift Aid on up to £5000 of small donations per year without the need for any information to be collected from the donor. This will effectively create a match giving scheme at Gift Aid levels for cash donations at events or through street or door to door collecting for smaller charities.
