A new scheme to be proposed will give companies the opportunity to boost donations to charities by around £1bn a year, while qualifying for tax relief. The Centre for Social Justice is to produce a report which outlines the ‘C-Volunteering Initiative’.

The Centre for Social Justice is a think tank which was initiated by Iain Duncan Smith, the secretary of state for Work and Pensions. According to the organisation, charitable donations could be boosted by £1bn a year. Employees will give up a specified amount of time at work to volunteer with their chosen charity. Their employer will agree an hourly rate for the voluntary work, paying that amount to the charity using a specially created C-Account which will be available online.

A company will be able to offset their charitable payments against corporation tax, gaining tax relief on their donations. The executive director of the Centre for Social Justice, Gavin Poole spoke of a necessity to create new schemes which will encourage the participation of UK businesses in tackling problems within the community, like dependence on the welfare system and educational failure. According to Poole, the United States charitable donations amount to £136bn a year, which is almost double the UK amount.

The proposals for the Centre for Social Justice have been created in collaboration with ‘C’, a new group for social enterprise led by three business professionals. It is hoped that no limit will be set for companies who are claiming tax relief, to provide a valuable boost to a variety of charities.

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