|
PART 2
A little bit of Give & Take - Jim
Phillips
Tax-efficient ways to give to the Trust
There are ways of giving to the Trust where you give with one hand
and receive with the other - courtesy of a number of tax-efficient
schemes. Here are three ways for this edition of Wey-South; I will
continue in the next edition:
Giving shares: perhaps you
feel locked into shares which have done well for you over the years
but which would attract swingeing capital gains tax (CGT) if you
sell. You can give some or all of them to WACT without paying CGT
and you can receive tax relief on the donation. If, for example,
you bought £1 000-worth of shares a few years ago and they are now
worth £10,000 you can, by giving them to WACT, receive £4000 off
your tax bill. The shares have to be transferred to the Trust: the
scheme does not work if you sell them first and hand the proceeds
over to WACT.
Gift Aid: I have written to
every member who has paid their subscription since 5 April 2000
when the Gift Aid rules changed. By far the majority responded with
a ‘YES’. With these forms, and those who signed up for LLEP donations,
the Restoration Fund, the PODDLE or on other occasions, WACT has
had many thousands of pounds back from the taxman in the last nine
months. Some members have given on several different occasions and
if they would like a summary of their gifts during this past tax
year please ask me. You can then be sure of including them on your
form and thereby get your full tax relief. Although I have declared
your gifts to the Inland Revenue they will not be able to link that
to your tax return: you have to claim to get the tax relief for
yourself.
Payroll Giving: for members
who are in employment, you can increase your gifts to WACT by paying
through the PAYE system as some already do. Your employer will deduct
donations from your pay, with your authorisation. The deductions
are made before tax is paid, so that you pay tax only on the rest
of your salary. So, for example, if you agree to pay £5 a month,
the actual cost to a basic-rate taxpayer is £3.90 and a mere £3
to a higher-rate taxpayer. Until April 2003, the Government will
add 10% to all contributions made through the scheme. You can give
to more than one charity; you do not have to tell your employer
the names of the charities as the administration is done by a Payroll
Giving agency. The agency charges a small fee but some employers
are prepared to meet that cost.
Members who would like more information on these schemes, please
contact me via the WACT Office.
LLEP report - Eric Walker
By the middle of May all the volunteers’ work on the Drungewick
Lane Canal Bridge was complete except for the capping pieces on
the parapet piers. The caps are being made at Tickners. Richard
Julian will remove, when the Foot & Mouth disease (FMD) regulations
permit, the silt in the canal from the bridge towards the next lock.
It is then intended to clay line the canal around the bridge. Finally
we will put in the stop planks at Drungewick and fill the pound
using our River Arun extraction licence for the first time.
The Drungewick Link is the project title for the next job. Funded
by the Countryside Agency, this will extend the canal by 70 metres
and put in a heavy vehicle crossing for the EA. At £30,000 this
is now considered a medium sized project! However, and most importantly,
the cash and pledges are in place to cover this work. All the preparations
have been done so again we await the FMD regulations to allow us
to proceed. I hope all this work is completed by the end of August.
As to the aqueduct, detailed discussions are being pursued with
the piling contractors and designers Tony Gee & Partners.
Publicity - New Kid(?) on the block
- David Isted
Yes, I have taken on the job of Publicity from Geoff, who heaved
a sigh of relief!
Having also handed over reams of paper to me - I discovered amongst
these a list of helpers who regularly update various notice boards
and other sources. Now the paths are gradually opening, can I ask
all of you to check that the noticeboards are refilled with the
latest details from the office.
The Fundraising Director, Ian Lauder, informs me that the publicity
that we give helps him immensely and funds are coming in at a very
satisfactory rate. Which means we should spread our efforts even
further by way of mouth, and any other way you can think of. Please
always have Membership Forms in your car to give to people you meet.
Any questions/problems, please phone me on 01903 507277.
Having just bought my first computer, I hope to be on line shortly.
Volunteer records - John Wood
Working Party Attendance Records
These records show us for each year just how many hours are worked
by our volunteers in restoring the canal. The Working Party Leaders
complete a record sheet of who attends their many working parties
and how many hours of work each person gives. The hourly rate for
this work is £5.75. The results for last year (2000) are: -
11,203 hours at £5.75 per hour £64,417.25.
With certain of our grant applications, this value can be used
as “match funding”. The above figures also include the input from
our annual week long summer camp, long weekend residential camps,
including those such as the Newbury Working Party Group, London
Waterway Recovery Group and the Kent & East Sussex Canal Restoration
Group.
| 
