NI Assembly asks the Chancellor to Give it Back George

Commenting on the debate, NICVA Chief Executive Seamus McAleavey said “some people have sought to criticise today’s debate because the issue of taxation is not devolved to the NI Assembly.  But these proposals from HM Treasury will have a negative impact on voluntary and community organisations and ultimately the people and communities they work with.  So we think that it is right for our MLAs to send such a strong message to HM Treasury on behalf of the local voluntary and community sector and we commend the proposers of the debate and those Members who made such a positive contribution today.”

Opening the debate, the main sponsor of the motion DUP MLA Peter Weir described the reaction to the Chancellors proposals to place a cap on tax relief to charitable donations as a ‘firestorm’ and said that with figures suggesting 45% of the £11billion given to charities in the past year came from just 7% of donors it was hardly a surprise that “a lot of the large charities in the UK, such as Cancer Research, Save the Children, Concern Worldwide, the National Trust, Age UK and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, have all written to show their opposition, as, indeed, have local philanthropists such as Sir George Bain, John Agnew and Angila Chada.”

Mr Weir also pointed out that  "a lot of the larger charities have projects that filter down to grass-roots level and use, for example, smaller charities, churches and community organisations to deliver schemes on the ground. So, in Northern Ireland there will be a real impact not just at the higher levels of larger charities but on much smaller charities.’ He added that it was important “for the sake of the most vulnerable in our society who benefit from a lot of charitable work, the Assembly sends out a clear-cut message about where we stand on the issue”.

Sinn Fein MLA Mickey Brady tackled the point being raised by the Treasury that some charitable donations amounted to tax avoidance by calling it a red herring and commenting that “surely the Government should be able to tell the difference between tax avoidance and supporting valuable charity work.”  Motivations for charitable giving were also highlighted by DUP co-sponsor of the motion Alasdair Ross MLA, who said that “many individuals choose to give huge sums because they have been touched by a charity or because members of their family have had an illness for which they have received help from one charity or another. I think that that is the primary reason for many people to give; it is not that they will, necessarily, benefit individually.”

Leslie Cree MLA took the opportunity to highlight that the issue of bogus or unethical charities was dealt with via the regulatory role of the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and he believed “that we have a system in place in which charities operate in a firm and fair regulatory environment where the public can have trust in the fact that, on the whole, charities produce positive and tangible benefits. Indeed, they play an integral part in many aspects of life in Northern Ireland.”

For the SDLP Dominic Bradley MLA pointed out that the work of charities was vital to support the “contribution made to our society by the national health system, the welfare state and other government agencies.”  

East Belfast Alliance MLA Judith Cochrane said “It almost seems in this instance that, while one hand from Westminster is patting the third sector on the back and seeking to provide assistance and support, the other is tightening the noose around its neck. The overriding principle in all of this should not simply be deterring a minority but emboldening the majority.”

Ulster Unionist Michael Copeland highlighted the potential reduction in donations to universities  which would “deliver yet another kick in the face to the aspirations and opportunities of our young people, who are being asked to pay for past fiscal irresponsibilities to which they were not party. The measure also has the effect of potentially demoralising genuine philanthropists by branding them as tax dodgers.”

Closing the debate the DUP’s Simon Hamilton remarked that while government should strive to close tax avoidance loopholes “the message from everyone in the House is that tax relief on charitable giving is altogether different.”   He finished by adding that “Although the Government’s aim might be to target the small percentage who give to so-called false charities, the result will be that millions suffer. The message going out loud and clear from the Assembly to Her Majesty’s Treasury and Government is that we appreciate the work that charities do. Everybody here is grateful for what they do across Northern Ireland each and every day. We do not want that good work, which helps and supports what we in government are trying to do, to be curtailed by the closing of a tax loophole.”

You can read the Offical Hansard Report of the debate here

Find out why NICVA supports the Give It Back George Campaign here.