Monday 21 December 2009

Some Are More Equal Than Others


An interesting piece in the Guardian.

A campaign group which claims to represent the interests of ordinary taxpayers is using a charitable arm which gives it access to tax relief on donations from wealthy backers, the Guardian has learned.

Labour politicians attacked the apparent scheme as hypocritical, and tax accountants warned it could breach charity law, which states that organisations may not be charitable if they have political purposes.

Must be Cancer Research UK, surely. £155m in legacies, major gifts and corporate fundraising last year, and with an employee seconded to the department of health, two days per week, in the run up to the vote on tobacco display bans. For which they had a clear political bias seeing as they have only one view on the matter.

No? Why? They do tick all the above prohibitive boxes, after all.

It would be nice if all charities stopped dabbling in politics, but while they do, why the problem with the Taxpayers' Alliance supping from the gander's sauce?

Is it cos dey is right of centre?

UPDATE: Leg Iron has covered this too earlier, in his inimitable way. Such hypocrisy is mercifully very quickly spotted.




4 comments:

von Spreuth. said...

And do not forget the involvment of the R.S,P.C.A in the anti fox hunting debate.

Dick Puddlecote said...

Don't forget Barnados, VS.

Their government money extends to video collection boxes in Tottenham Court Road. I don't reckon the donations are going to make a profit on the huge installation costs somehow.

Still, why should they care? It's not like they run homes for parentless kids anymore.

Uncle Marvo said...

And BCG, and TPUC ...

Sup away.

DaveA said...

I met one of the senior members of the TPA last night and he is both pleased and not worried.

Prescott can go whistle Dixie. As eveyone here says if Prescott is successful there are so many other "charities" going down with him.