Should taxes be imposed on charity donations?
The new Hippodrome Casino launched in Leicester Square is predicted to have a huge success. But a new scandal has attracted more attention of the European casino news. Jimmy Thomas, a tycoon and co-founder, has complained about the new tax polices imposed by the government related to a recent VAT bill.
But his complaint has nothing in common with the tax on the gambling license, nor on the materials he used for building, nor on the income that he receives from gambling. The tycoon was distressed by the fact that his charity donation in the amount of £2,000,000 to the ovarian cancer ward at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London for reconstruction was taxed by the gigantic sum- £460,000. Nothing helped him with this problem, even the support and friendship of David Cameron, the Conservative Prime Minister. He has been rather loud about the distress this tax has given him and how he would like to solve the problem. He comments, “I’ve given them £500,000, the money that could help the woman with ovarian cancer.”
Recently several European casinos have become the victims of this tax problem as well, as they have to operate in a black hole of legislation. Public used to treat them as something negative and all their charity work is just neglected. This is easily proved by some great donations made by the casino tycoon Steve Wynn in Las Vegas. He had helped to some poor needy people who remained anonymous until the press interfered in this affair. A lot of people came to the conclusion that such charity support should be tax free, but there are others who believe that this is the way to wash the untaxed revenue in immoral way.
Thomas didn’t stop ranting about the distress he faced, commenting to journalists his talk with the Treasure Minister. The latter said that in such a situation he had to call off the taxes from schools and other institutions of the kind. But Thomas insisted that the charity money was directed to the hospital needs but not the money people choose to pay while giving education to their children. Such people could send their children to some good grammar schools instead of Eton. “The tax from the charity money has already been taken before giving it to the VAT official,” concludes Thomas.
