Simon Weil, partner, Bircham Dyson Bell

Simon Weil

Overarching all else is my firmly held view that an essential component in any action plan designed to boost philanthropy in the UK has to be a package of additional tax breaks/incentives.

Its conspicuous absence from Jeremy Hunt’s announcement inclines me to agree with the reaction of Lord Myners – “fine words butter no parsnips”. The fact is that Jeremy Hunt drew largely on the admirable examples of the great philanthropists of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, none of whom faced a significant burden of direct taxation.

In order to promote planned giving we need more tools to play with, notably tax incentives relevant to the 21st Century eg lifetime legacies, income tax reliefs on gifts of chattels/works of art on the lines already available for gifts of quoted securities and land and an extension of the gifts in lieu regime to lifetime arrangements, as recommended by Sir Nicholas Goodison in his 2004 Report.

There appear to be two points of substance in the strategy: the £80m matched funding scheme, albeit, as Lord Myners suggests, largely re-cycled funding but, hopefully, now more effectively deployed and it could be significant as a pump primer; and the proposed ‘year of corporate giving’, designed to strengthen recognition for donors.

What was not suggested in the strategy that might also promote philanthropy is a liberalisation of the benefits rules applying to donors, as advocated in Neil MacGregor’s Endowments Report.

Endowments are crucial for most arts organisations and I welcome the extent to which the match funding scheme will support organisations wishing to develop endowments. I see lifetime legacies, both charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts, as a major boost here, were they to be introduced. In any event, effective communication of the message to the British public that they are “a good thing” would be extremely beneficial, serving to alter the long held perception that donating to fund an endowment is somehow not the right thing to do.

Lastly, I would advise against any Gift Aid reform that would adversely affect tax breaks for donors.

Simon Weil
Simon Weil is partner at Bircham Dyson Bell and specialises in charities, tax planning, investment property for charities and the resolution of potentially contentious issues arising out of wills, trusts and co-ownership of property for charities and private clients.Simon has lectured on charity trusteeship and charities in the context of tax-planning. He is also a member of the Charity Law Association and the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Practitioners. Weil also sits on the advisory board of the European Association for Planning Giving. He has helped to pioneer the development of real property investment pooling schemes for charities and advised in the creation of the Absolute Return Trust for Charities, the first common investment fund of hedge funds.

Bircham Dyson Bell
Tel: +44 (0)20 7783 3527
Email: simonweil@bdb-law.co.uk
Website: www.bdb-law.co.uk