MP applauds Oxfam Gift Aid scheme

4 January 2010

It's the time of year when many people have a good sort-out of items they no longer need, and donate them to a charity shop. Stockport MP Ann Coffey will visit her local Oxfam shop in the town centre on Friday to hear more about their new "Tag Your Bag" scheme.

Tag Your Bag means that Oxfam can now benefit from Gift Aid, the system whereby HM Revenue and Customs allows charities to reclaim tax on any cash raised by donations from UK taxpayers. A charity can reclaim 25pence of tax on every £1 donated, and the government pays to the charity an additional 3pence on every £1 – giving a total of 28pence tax relief on charity donations.

Oxfam have explained to Ann that Tag your Bag is working well in Stockport. When people bring things into the Oxfam shop they can join up by filling in a simple form to confirm they are a UK taxpayer. They will then be given some personalised Tag Your Bag stickers so that each time they bring items into the shop, each bag is tagged with a sticker. When Oxfam sell the donated items, they can reclaim 28% on cash raised by the sale.

Ann Coffey said: "Gift Aid is a brilliant scheme, and I'm very impressed with the way it's working for Oxfam with Tag Your Bag. It means that people's donations to Oxfam will go much further – and all you have to do is sign up for Gift Aid."

Claire Wood, manager of the Stockport Oxfam shop, said: "Tag Your Bag means an extra 28pence for every £1 worth of goods we sell in the shop. It's no extra work for the customers and doesn't cost them a penny."

Photo Opportunity:

Ann Coffey will visit the Oxfam shop at 104 Princes Street, Stockport SK1 1RJ, at 2.30pm on Friday 8th January.