Are there too many charities in the UK today?

 

In recent years there has been scandals with certain charities where more money goes on administration than actual causes.

 

Administers have siphoned of loads of cash and checks are weak, so they get away with it.

 

Do you still give to charity? I do, but I am very wary of all these people pushing tins in front of me, on a regular basis. I don’t mind giving to certain charities but I draw the line at giving to every charity.

 

If there were less then maybe the ones left would get more cash and make a difference.

But there is always scandal when it comes to charities. In todays Times I noticed this:

 

SOME of Britain’s top entertainers, footballers and businessmen are embroiled in a tax investigation amid allegations that they have exploited a charity donation scheme for personal profit.

Celebrities including Angus Deayton and David Baddiel have claimed six-figure sums in tax relief after donating shares of questionable value to charities.

 

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched an investigation into this type of tax scheme and has searched the offices of a top accountancy firm.

The scheme involves buying and then “giving†shares in tiny companies to charities to receive tax rebates from the Exchequer. The donors typically make far more than the charities. This is legal but HMRC is investigating whether share prices were manipulated to boost their value before transfer to charity.

Several celebrities used the scheme to make money from the flotation of Poly Information, a tiny Israeli voice-recognition firm with an annual turnover of just £121,000. Deayton bought 10m shares in the firm for 1p each, which cost £100,000. The shares quadrupled in value on flotation and, three days later, Deayton transferred 9m shares to the Islington Angel Charitable Trust, which he established.

Deayton qualified for a tax rebate of up to £144,000. The shares, which the charity still owns, slumped and are now worth just 0.47p each — £42,300 in total. He has repeated the process with several other firms.

Baddiel also bought 10m shares in the firm, which were transferred to a charitable trust of which he is a trustee, bringing him a rebate of about £160,000.

Dave Hartnett, the director-general of HMRC, said: “We take any abuse of the gift aid system very seriously and will come down hard on any fraudulent abuse of gift aid on shares or tax avoidance. Schemes that target the charity sector are particularly offensive.â€

A spokesman for Baddiel said: “Like many entertainers, Baddiel’s tax affairs are looked at closely by the Revenue. It has made inquiries into his gifts to the Chairman Charitable Trust and the value of shares transferred by him has been agreed.â€

Deayton’s spokesman said: “The charitable trust established by our client has benefited considerably from the gifts made by him. In excess of £100,000 has been distributed to a large range of charitable organisations.â€

 

I only give money to animal charities and local causes like buying a kidney machine for the hospital or whatever, the big charities like Oxfam, Red Cross, UNICEF I could imagine would use up huge amounts of money on administration

I don't give money to charity because I know it won't get there.

i give to charity, oxfam, greenpeace, the blind, by monthly dd... i dont give to the tv 'robfest' that is children in need, comic relief. i wont be blackmailed, made to feel guilty by these awful shows

Don't you think that these high profile charities try to make you feel guilty though? I agree you should only give to the ones you feel comfortable with

they can do, but i set up my dd's prior to any tv blackmail.

I give to the charities I care about, but what bugs me are the many letters I get through the post from charities, sending me calenders, labels, pens, raffle tickets etc and wanting a regular donation from me. I can just ignore them, but I'm sure that there are plenty of people who are made to feel guilty, so send off a donation, then find themselves getting constant requests for more from the charity.

I think that there are too many medical ones. Surely an amalgamation of all the cancer charities would be a good thing for example?

 

Down here, there are local cancer charities and some of them are fair enough. They support local cancer care, such as a refurbished treatment area for breast cancer at one hospital.