I'm sick to death with Charities

[Gordon Booth]

Originally Posted by Eric

Are charitable donations tax deductable for you guys over there?

They can be if you sign a form but the charity gets the tax back, not the donor.

[Less]

Originally Posted by Eric

Are charitable donations tax deductable for you guys over there?

Do you get a constant plucking at the heart strings about starving people, sick animals and adopt a snow leapord over there or is this kind of blackmail only tolerated on British television?

[maxthecollie]

I do volunteer work for the Pets as Therapy charity. I assess dogs and cats to see if their temperament is alright for hospital and other places to visit.

[Eric]

Originally Posted by Less

Do you get a constant plucking at the heart strings about starving people, sick animals and adopt a snow leapord over there or is this kind of blackmail only tolerated on British television?

Yeah ... we get that stuff too. And I have to admit that I do feel sympathy. But I can't afford to give to everything; and I do know that some charities are more reliable and effective than others. And I also know that Canada spends billions in foreign aid, and that this aid comes from the Canadian taxpayer. Whenever there is a natural disaster ... Haiti comes to mind; we gave large there ... Canadians, whether they like it or not, step up with the bucks. When I donate, I try to do it locally: I donate to the Kingston Humane Society, clothes and toys for kids at Christmas, the Partners in Mission Food Bank, and the Sally Anne. I recieve official receipts for my donations and I can submit these with my income tax as a portion of the donations is tax deductible.

[Less]

Originally Posted by maxthecollie

I do volunteer work for the Pets as Therapy charity. I assess dogs and cats to see if their temperament is alright for hospital and other places to visit.

All power to your elbow for taking time out for that, but this isn't really a, 'I deserve a pat on the head because I'm a good boy', sort of thread.
What I would do however is make sure you aren't being taken for a mug check what they publicly declare in case it turns out there is only you that does owt for nowt'.

[mobertol]

Originally Posted by Eric

Are charitable donations tax deductable for you guys over there?

Here in Italy we can sign a sort of covenant on our tax returns -mine usually goes towards assistance for natural disasters, Earthquakes, landslides etc in Italy.

Last year I gave it to a vet I know who has set up a research group locally into the breeding of animals for organ donation.

A tax return on other charity donations I've never heard of...

[janloot]

there was a great saying, "charity begins at home" or words to that effect, seems to make more sense to me.

[garinda]

When I'm sat outside a shop, waiting patiently for Mummy, I get sick to death of people trying to post coins through a slot in my head.

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by mobertol

Last year I gave it to a vet I know who has set up a research group locally into the breeding of animals for organ donation.

I suppose the Italians don't have a branch of the Anti Vivsection League
NAVS : Home

That sort of donation would bring you trouble here.

[Eric]

Originally Posted by mobertol

Here in Italy we can sign a sort of covenant on our tax returns -mine usually goes towards assistance for natural disasters, Earthquakes, landslides etc in Italy.

Last year I gave it to a vet I know who has set up a research group locally into the breeding of animals for organ donation.

A tax return on other charity donations I've never heard of...

As long as the charity is registered as "Official", or some such nonesense, and issues you an official receipt, you can claim. You can also claim part of your donations to a political party.

What I can't understand is why charity is necessary in wealthy countries such as the UK. Too many folks are being left behind. Too few have too much. The UK, like the US, has a massive gap between the poor and the wealthy. In England there is little social mobility, and this is exacerbated by the obvious class differnces. Most social problems have their roots in this inequality. Watch out for riots in major cities this summer. Those who have nothing to lose have everything to gain. The greed of the "haves" is probably what will precipitate a crisis. It happened in France in 1787. Charity is not enough. Equality and social mobility is what is needed. One only has to look at Denmark, for example, to see this.

[garinda]

Originally Posted by Eric

As long as the charity is registered as "Official", or some such nonesense, and issues you an official receipt, you can claim. You can also claim part of your donations to a political party.

What I can't understand is why charity is necessary in wealthy countries such as the UK. Too many folks are being left behind. Too few have too much. The UK, like the US, has a massive gap between the poor and the wealthy. In England there is little social mobility, and this is exacerbated by the obvious class differnces. Most social problems have their roots in this inequality. Watch out for riots in major cities this summer. Those who have nothing to lose have everything to gain. The greed of the "haves" is probably what will precipitate a crisis. It happened in France in 1787. Charity is not enough. Equality and social mobility is what is needed. One only has to look at Denmark, for example, to see this.

Think you've been away too long.

Last summers riots and looting attracted people across the social scale.

There were many prosecutions of people who came from backgrounds where they had good lifestyles, including many who were privately educated.

Same thing at our annual May Day riots, and most protests nowadays, there's very much a middle class weighting.

Which means that it's really nothing to do with 'poverty', or social mobility.

[Mick]

The ....lets say older members of the site will remember taking little brown envelopes home to fill with 1d and threepenny bits and sixpences for a charity these are still going now this has been going for over 50 years from my knowledge so they must have had billions of pounds over the years and still they ask for more so just where has all that money gone as the country they where supposed to benefit is no different now as it was then.

[flashy]

my sister looks after adults with challenging, learning, mental and physical disabilities, she once told me never to give money to charities to help people with these disabilities because the amount of state benefits they receive is enormous, the ladies that Kelly looks after have thousands in the bank, money the ladies don't know how to/need to spend, they already have everything they need

[AccyMad]

Originally Posted by flashy

my sister looks after adults with challenging, learning, mental and physical disabilities, she once told me never to give money to charities to help people with these disabilities because the amount of state benefits they receive is enormous, the ladies that Kelly looks after have thousands in the bank, money the ladies don't know how to/need to spend, they already have everything they need

I can't believe that someone in this line of work has spoken about the finances of the people in their care, to anyone outside of their work environment - sorry but that is most unprofessional.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I can remember coming home with little books of pictures of children....babies, smiling girls. cheeky faced boys. We were told to sell these pictures for a penny or twopence and bring the money into school and it would go towards feeding these orphans and disadvantaged children.

Despite the fact that we were poor, we always cent some money back with the stubs of the books.
Ma used to give sixpence a week to the Catholic Church too, for their missionary work.

She used to say that although we had very little, there were lots of children who had even less.