Sir, – Further to "Law firm defends use of charities to help hedge funds cut tax bills" (August 27th), there is no doubt that we have some super-clever legal and tax planning minds in this country who continually devise mechanisms to assist their clients in reducing their tax obligations. It must have been a very bright spark who said "I know, why don't we come up with a mechanism using a charity structure to substantially cut the tax bills of for-profit corporations?"
This is puzzling because to be granted charitable status in Ireland, an organisation must have a clear charitable purpose. The Charities Act 2009 sets out the Irish law definition of “charitable purpose” which is defined as (a) the prevention or relief of poverty or economic hardship, (b) the advancement of education, (c) the advancement of religion, (d) any other purpose that is of benefit to the community.
I don’t understand how they can pull it off. Try as I might, I can’t see how a hedge fund can squeeze in under that definition and claim charitable status. It is all part of the dark arts of tax planning. It may be legal but is it moral or ethical?
Let’s hope the Revenue Commissioners and the Charities Regulatory Authority take prompt and decisive action to ensure that Irish charity law is not brought into disrepute. – Yours, etc,
DIARMAID Ó CORRBUÍ,
Carmichael Centre
for Voluntary Groups,
North Brunswick Street,
Dublin 7.