|
MONEY - again! - Jim Phillips, Hon. Treasurer
Talks
At canal talks which I give, I am often asked incredulously how the Trust raises as much
money as it does. The amounts are indeed large and it is plain to the listeners that a £30
talk fee does not go far towards the £396,000 cost of next year’s aqueduct. By itself, it
doesn’t but it brings in some new members and spreads the word about what we are
doing. The Wey & Arun Canal survived because of its rural location; many people have
never heard of it. It is important that we keep our potential friends and our present
supporters informed. Without them, the restoration would grind to a halt.
Restoration Fund
The Restoration Fund has 88 subscribers who pay monthly by a bank standing order, or
through the Charities Aid Foundation, which brings in a vely welcome £460 a month. As
the great majority of subscribers have signed a Gift Aid declaration, I can claim about
£110 a month back from the tax man. Other members, when paying their annual
subscriptions, top up the sum with a donation to the Restoration Fund so that last year the
total raised was £8373. I am very grateful, on behalf of the Trust, to all these subscribers.
If you would like to become a subscriber, please let me know.
Sponsors
Our sponsors generously give us goods in kind so that our cash can go towards
restoration. Our Trust office and our principal depot at Tickners Heath are let to us rent-
free. Harwoods support us by providing the Land-Rover which they also tax, service and
MoT without charge; the Trust pays only for insurance and fuel, so the value of this
sponsorship is very considerable. ZK, you might think from the accounts, runs on fresh
air; not so, as fuel and lubricants are supplied free-of-charge by Southern Counties Fuels.
Other sponsors, such as United Marine Aggregates, give us discounts on materials.
Swallow’s Tiles recently cut, stacked and transported free-of-charge about 22 tons of clay
blocks which were used for leak-sealing near our new Drungewick Lane bridge. This
generous act of sponsorship was worth several thousand pounds.
Local authorities are generous in their support of our restoration. Chichester District
Council has pledged £20,000 towards the aqueduct; West Sussex County Council was
generous in its financial help with the road bridge.
Charitable Trusts have so far given or pledged some £55,000 towards the aqueduct.
Most of these Trusts have helped us before, so we are particularly grateful for their
continued support. You might think that some would be offended by our constant
approaches with a begging-bowl but they rarely are: one Charitable Trust in the north said
bluntly that their grant was for the last time, but other Trusts have generously taken its
place.
Heritage Lottery Fund
A great deal of work has gone into the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant
towards the aqueduct. WACT members who have not been involved in seeking Lottery
money might be surprised at the amount of paperwork involved; the application pack
which gives the rules to be followed weighed just over 4 lbs and woe betide the applicant
who does not read all the small print. I hope that all the effort that has gone into our
application will be rewarded by a grant.
A LITTLE BIT OF GIVE AND 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 (CUT) if you sell.
You can give some or all of them to WACT without paying CUT and you can receive tax
relief on the donation. If, for example, you bought £1000-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 getting 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.
BACK
| 
Glyn Woodage (left), Chief Executive of Harwoods, presents Peter Foulger with the keys to the new vehicle.