Government to waive VAT on Military Wives’ charity single
Chancellor of the Exchequer has today announced that the government will waive VAT on sales of the Military Wives choir's Christmas single.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has today announced that the government will waive VAT on sales of the Military Wives choir’s Christmas single by making an exceptional one-off charitable donation to the Royal British Legion, and Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA), the charities chosen to benefit from sales of the song. The donation will be equivalent to the sum of the VAT receipts collected on sales.
Recognising the service of the armed forces and the high levels of public support for the single, as well as the exceptional contribution both charities make through their work with members of the forces and their families, George Osborne and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond want to maximise the donation that the charity receives by adding the VAT equivalent.
George Osborne said:
Our armed forces demonstrate incredible commitment to the nation and make sacrifices for all of us. The Military Wives choir is doing a great job of raising money for this hugely worthy cause. We will donate the tax collected on the single so that as much as possible of the money spent by the public on this fantastic song goes to charities helping our armed forces and their families this Christmas.
Philip Hammond said:
Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for our brave service personnel deployed on operations, but also for their families at home. I am delighted to be supporting the Military Wives choir in this initiative, who in turn are supporting our Armed Forces community.
Notes for Editors
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The fundraising song (Wherever You Are) is performed by the Military Wives choir. All net record proceeds are going to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA. For more information, visit http://www.whereveryouare.co.uk/.
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The donation will be equivalent to the sum of the VAT receipts collected on sales before the 31 January 2012 and will be funded by HM Treasury.
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Update - On 19 February 2012 the government announced that the sales deadline of 31 January would be extended to 31 March 2012 in recognition of the fact that the single’s Brit award nomination is likely to result in additional sales.