Annabel Young National Revenue Spokesperson

13 May 2002

Govt creeps up on charities

The Government's slight increase in the deductions for donations for charities is too small and hides the biggest threat to charities in the history on NZ, National Revenue Spokesperson Annabel Young said today.

"Today's announcement that a Charities Commission will be established means new costs on every charity and will allow the Government to micro-control charities.

"Committees will have to become more sophisticated to cope with the compliance costs of registering and meeting the demands of the Charity Commission.

"The result is that small charities will fall through the cracks because they cannot afford to employ expensive advisors. Little charities like school and church organisations will find it hard to comply and even harder to get volunteers to undertake the liabilities that will now be associated with raising money for charity.

"Any charity will now have to comply with the IRD's rules and audits as well as the new Charity Commission's rules. If the charity does not satisfy both the Commission and the IRD they will be subject to tax as though they were a business so much of the money they are raising will go back to taxes.

"This is unfair and proves the Government is anti-charity, as does the establishment of a Charity Commission," Ms Young said.

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