Charity status: Difference between revisions

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==Covering Letter==
When Wikimedia UK (v2) was formed, obtaining charitable status was identified as one of the key objectives. The advantages of charitable status were identified as:


Dear Mr Y....,
* It adds to our reputation, meaning that people are more likely to donate, join, partner with us and take our views seriously
* We can claim Gift Aid income tax relief
* We can get reduced costs for other services including PayPal and room hire


'''Re: Wiki UK Limited (operating name Wikimedia UK)
We drafted our [[constitution]]'s Objects clause having regard to the Charity Commission's advice on the charitable activity called "Advancement of Education".
We [[Timeline|first applied]] for charitable status in November 2008 after we were incorporated and the Wikimedia Foundation's [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapters_committee Chapters Committee] had approved our [[constitution]]. As our confirmed annual income was less than £5,000 <ref> See section A3 of [http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Library/publications/pdfs/cc5btext.pdf this guidance]</ref>, we [were unable to apply direct to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity Commission Charity Commission]. However, we were able to apply to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMRC UK Tax Authorities (HMRC)], and ask them to [http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/tax/recognition.htm recognise us for tax purposes].


'''Your ref: [insert]
At first, our application was delayed due to a backlog at the HMRC Charities Unit. We asked our MP to intervene to speed the process up, which he did, and we received a [http://www.mail-archive.com/wikimediauk-l@lists.wikimedia.org/msg01080.html final response] in April 2009. The response unfortunately rejected our application, arguing "''The production of an encyclopaedia is not the charitable advancement of of education''"


I refer to your letter dated 17 April 2009 rejecting our application to be recognised by you for tax purposes as a charity and to our telephone call on 1 May, during which we discussed the legal situation regarding the “advancement of education” and the ways we can take our case forward.
We obtained informal legal advice and drafted a response addressing the case law raised by HMRC and giving examples of the projects' educational value so we can comply with the Charity Commission's [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/pbeduc.asp guidance on education].  
 
The Wikimedia Foundation, the owners of Wikipedia amongst other projects, are recognised as a charity under the law of Florida. Several of our sister “chapters” - including Wikimedia Hong Kong, Wikimedia Germany, Wikimedia Sweden and Wikimedia CH (Switzerland) - are also recognised in their jurisdictions as charities. We continue to believe that our activities and our objects are similarly charitable and in our case constitute the charitable advancement of education. However, we accept that we are not aware of any existing English charities whose activities are similar to us, and understand your reluctance to grant tax benefits in the absence of these. Therefore, we would like to ask you to refer our case to the Charity Commission, using the mechanism we discussed on the phone, and ask their view on whether our activities are charitable or not.
 
We have set out in our previous letters an outline of our activities and the reasons why we think we are charitable. To recap: the charitable object of “advancement of education” is already accepted for libraries, museums and art galleries. We consider our activities to be directly analogous to those undertaken by these organisations. Like libraries, we make educational material available to the public; like art galleries, we display works of art and works of historical interest for the public to see; and like museums, our projects are not simply an indiscriminate collection of facts: our projects accept only articles that are considered notable, newsworthy or educational. <ref> Wikipedia, for instance, has the following content policy:
 
{{quote|Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information; merely being true or useful does not automatically make something suitable for inclusion in an encyclopedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:NOT)}} </ref>
 
Our chief purpose in this communication is to provide a more legally rigorous analysis, with reference to the case law, which we include as an attachment. We also attach a set of examples showing how the resources that we support are used in structured learning.
 
Thank you once again for the assistance you have given. We look forward to hearing from you in due course.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
 
 
Andrew Turvey<br>
Secretary<br>
Wikimedia UK<br>
Wikimedia UK is the operating name of Wiki UK Limited.<br>
Wiki UK Ltd is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827.
The Registered Office is at 23 Cartwright Way, Nottingham, NG9 1RL, United Kingdom.


The response was sent in June and a copy has been uploaded to the wiki [[File:HMRC Response Letter.pdf|here]]


== Notes ==


<references/>
<references/>
== Attachments ==
# [[/Use of Wikimedia resources in structured learning]]
# [[/Legal analysis of the advancement of education]]

Revision as of 00:21, 24 June 2009

When Wikimedia UK (v2) was formed, obtaining charitable status was identified as one of the key objectives. The advantages of charitable status were identified as:

  • It adds to our reputation, meaning that people are more likely to donate, join, partner with us and take our views seriously
  • We can claim Gift Aid income tax relief
  • We can get reduced costs for other services including PayPal and room hire

We drafted our constitution's Objects clause having regard to the Charity Commission's advice on the charitable activity called "Advancement of Education".

We first applied for charitable status in November 2008 after we were incorporated and the Wikimedia Foundation's Chapters Committee had approved our constitution. As our confirmed annual income was less than £5,000 [1], we [were unable to apply direct to the Commission Charity Commission. However, we were able to apply to the UK Tax Authorities (HMRC), and ask them to recognise us for tax purposes.

At first, our application was delayed due to a backlog at the HMRC Charities Unit. We asked our MP to intervene to speed the process up, which he did, and we received a final response in April 2009. The response unfortunately rejected our application, arguing "The production of an encyclopaedia is not the charitable advancement of of education"

We obtained informal legal advice and drafted a response addressing the case law raised by HMRC and giving examples of the projects' educational value so we can comply with the Charity Commission's guidance on education.

The response was sent in June and a copy has been uploaded to the wiki here

Notes

  1. ↑ See section A3 of this guidance
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