Remember A Charity welcomes inheritance tax changes to legacy giving

Published on 23 March 2011

Remember A Charity have welcomed the Government’s budget announcement today (23 March) to help make charitable legacy giving the norm when writing a will. Rob Cope, director of Remember A Charity, said: “A reduction in the inheritance tax rate for those leaving 10 per cent or more to charity must be welcomed, potentially raising millions for good causes every year.

“However, it’s important to remember that charitable legacies are not just for the rich. All gifts, large or small, can make an enormous difference. If we all left a gift to charity after taking care of friends and family, we could raise billions of pounds a year for our favourite charities.” Rob Cope added: “The UK legacy market is currently worth almost £2 billion a year, the equivalent of more than 24 Comic Relief appeals. A 4% change would represent a further £1 billion a year for good causes.” Remember A Charity last month responded to the Giving Green Paper, calling on the government to “examine the benefits of restructuring the IHT system, with perhaps a charitable exemption that has some form of tapering effect.”