A Tynwald Day petitioner has called on the government to introduce a 25% gift aid scheme for charitable donations, similar to the system operating in the UK.
Simon Mann presented his petition at Tynwald Day, urging the government to allow charities to claim back the tax on donations from the Treasury.
“The island does not have a similar scheme to the UK of 25% gift aid on charitable donations, so my petition is to ask our government to bring in such a scheme here,” Mr Mann said.
He also proposed that island churches be included in the scheme, though this would require them to register as charities under existing legislation.
Mr Mann described the charitable sector’s contribution to Manx society as “massive” and questioned why the government had not previously introduced such a measure.
“If you consider for all the major charities on the island to get an extra 25% on the charitable donations that they are currently getting, that’s going to make a huge difference to them,” he said.
He acknowledged the timing of the petition, coming at the end of the current administration, but said it would serve as a marker for election candidates.
“We’re at the end of an administration, so really, at this point, a petition is only really going to be putting down a marker for all the candidates in the election around the island,” Mr Mann said.
“The charitable sector needs urgent support, and this is one way of them doing so.”