Charity to promote legacy giving in the run-up to advantageous tax changes in April 2012
An independent charity has launched a campaign aimed at increasing the number of people in the UK who leave money to charity in their wills.
The new charity, Legacy10, will not collect or distribute funds but will simply encourage legacy giving. Its launch precedes new tax incentives due to kick in from April 2012, under which inheritance tax will be cut from 40% to 36% for those who give at least 10% of their estate to charity. The charity will be run by a committee covering business, culture and the wider charitable sector, chaired by Roland Rudd, Chairman of RLM Finsbury, who described the goal of the organisation as being “to make it the norm for people to leave at least 10% of their wealth to good causes”. Those having already ‘made the pledge’ include Sir Richard Branson and former Financial Services Secretary Paul Myners. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has welcomed the initiative: “…while people are feeling the pinch, more than half the population still give to charity each month…What’s surprising is that only seven per cent of people ever leave money to a charity in their will.” As a percentage of all income received by charities, legacies currently stand at 6%.