Government consults over incentives for donors
Simon Stephens, 01.07.2011
New tax scheme to encourage people to donate objects to museums
The government has published a consultation on a new tax scheme to encourage people to donate art and artefacts to the nation.
The proposal to boost lifetime giving was first suggested in this year’s budget, which put forward a raft of measures to encourage philanthropy, including plans to simplify Gift Aid.
“It’s always seemed absurd that in the UK you have to wait until after death to get any tax reduction to give art to museums,” said Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, which has argued for some time that the UK lags behind many other countries in the incentives offered for gifts of art.
“We know many people could be nudged to donate great art in their lifetime if tax breaks were available. We’re pleased the government has listened and look forward to helping shape the new scheme.”
The consultation on lifetime giving proposes that donors will receive a reduction in their tax liability based on a set percentage of the value of the object they are donating.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the government’s drive to increase philanthropy in arts and culture “already has a huge amount of momentum that is going to make important and lasting changes”.
The consultation will run until 21 September, and it is hoped the new scheme will be in place next year.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_gifts_art.htm
Update 01.07.2011
In other funding news, Arts Council England has announced details of its £40m Catalyst Arts fund, the lottery-funded part of an £80m scheme to promote private giving announced by Hunt last December.
The fund aims to help build the long-term resilience of arts organisations by increasing their fundraising potential. It will be invested in three ways:
Further details of the criteria and how to apply to Catalyst Arts will be available in September.
www.artscouncil.org.uk
The proposal to boost lifetime giving was first suggested in this year’s budget, which put forward a raft of measures to encourage philanthropy, including plans to simplify Gift Aid.
“It’s always seemed absurd that in the UK you have to wait until after death to get any tax reduction to give art to museums,” said Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, which has argued for some time that the UK lags behind many other countries in the incentives offered for gifts of art.
“We know many people could be nudged to donate great art in their lifetime if tax breaks were available. We’re pleased the government has listened and look forward to helping shape the new scheme.”
The consultation on lifetime giving proposes that donors will receive a reduction in their tax liability based on a set percentage of the value of the object they are donating.
Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the government’s drive to increase philanthropy in arts and culture “already has a huge amount of momentum that is going to make important and lasting changes”.
The consultation will run until 21 September, and it is hoped the new scheme will be in place next year.
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/consult_gifts_art.htm
Update 01.07.2011
In other funding news, Arts Council England has announced details of its £40m Catalyst Arts fund, the lottery-funded part of an £80m scheme to promote private giving announced by Hunt last December.
The fund aims to help build the long-term resilience of arts organisations by increasing their fundraising potential. It will be invested in three ways:
- £30m will go to creating a match-funding and capacity-building scheme, increasing arts organisations’ ability to fundraise
- £7m will create a one-off grant scheme to support arts organisations with less experience to build their fundraising capacity
- £3m will be invested in making available practical advice on how to secure new sources of funding.
Further details of the criteria and how to apply to Catalyst Arts will be available in September.
www.artscouncil.org.uk
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