Written question asked by Lord Morris of Manchester (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Sassoon (Conservative) on Monday, 24 January 2011.

Charities: VAT

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much they raised in each of the last five years from irrecoverable VAT from charities; how much in particular they raised from Sue Ryder Care; and whether they have any plans to cease the practice.

Answer: It is not possible to assess accurately the amount of irrecoverable VAT incurred by charities. Even if it were, considerations of taxpayer confidentiality would preclude the disclosure of information relating to specific organisations or individuals. Charities benefit from a range of tax reliefs which the Government estimate were worth approximately £3 billion per annum in 2009-10. These include reliefs from VAT, including VAT zero-rating on the sale of donated goods, medical and scientific equipment and, for qualifying charities, goods for use by disabled people. All zero rates are derogations from the normal European Union VAT rules, and represent benefits not enjoyed by charities elsewhere in Europe. There are no plans to introduce any additional VAT recovery schemes for charities.

Secondary information