§ Gifts etc. of shares, securities or real property to charities
1.47 pm§ The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Healey)I beg to move,
That provision may be made in the Finance Bill amending section 587B of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.The resolution paves the way for an amendment to section 587B of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 to restrict the value of income tax relief available in relation to a gift of shares or securities to charity to the net amount by which the charity benefits, rather than the market value. We will debate this as new clause 11.711 The amendment has become necessary because we have recently uncovered evidence of a scheme using a complex arrangement of trusts and options to manipulate the value of gilts donated to charities. The scheme aims to achieve tax relief for the individual making a donation at negligible cost and negligible benefit to the charity, and it has the potential of returning virtually the whole value of the gift to the control of the individual. There is potentially no limit on the amount of tax relief at stake. This is an unacceptable abuse of legislation designed to provide additional giving to charity.
§ Question put and agreed to.