• April 13, 2023, 8:18 p.m.

    The tax man says that if we offer facilities in return for donations they stop being donations and we have to pay tax on them.

  • Removed user
    April 13, 2023, 8:39 p.m.

    Good old Inland Revenue !!

    I remember them well ... and when I left in '85, VAT was 15% ...

  • Foundation 1220 posts
    April 13, 2023, 8:53 p.m.

    As far as I am concerned, I would regard any financial contribution that I might make as a donation in recognition of the generosity of those volunteers running the site. I imagine that the donation would go to defray expenses like rental of server space, etc, and I would not expect any personal facilities, privileges or other benefits.

    David

    David

  • April 13, 2023, 8:54 p.m.

    Yes, it would be VAT we have to pay, and that's 20% off all donations. It made it a no brainer - partners don't get perks.

  • April 13, 2023, 9:38 p.m.

    Unless you can register the foundation as a charity. Then you can claim gift aid on any donations.

    Alan

  • Members 615 posts
    April 14, 2023, 12:40 a.m.

    Not even a gold star? 🤪

  • Members 535 posts
    April 14, 2023, 7:52 a.m.

    For @bobn2 and @AlanSh, it will be "Founder"
    for the other
    "Contributor"

    It would be an Honorable mention under the handle/Name
    Like in DPR where you get a mention related to posts number
    (if I got it right)

    "Registered"
    and
    "GuestUser12345"

    With these two that come in my mind, should end what mention's need.

    And yes, guests should be able to post in a limited number of forums, not everywhere.

  • April 14, 2023, 9:29 a.m.

    Maybe a little sticker saying 'Brave Boy' (or Girl).

  • April 14, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

    It's hard to justify as a charity, and that brings other complications.

  • Foundation 1220 posts
    April 14, 2023, 10:16 a.m.

    In America they are called "not for profit organisations", but I dont think that concept is known in the UK.

    David

  • April 14, 2023, 10:47 a.m.

    In deed they are, the Foundation is a not for profit company, but that's not the same thing as a charity.

    From www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-makes-a-charity-cc4

    In England and Wales, a charity is an organisation that is:

    established for charitable purposes only, and
    subject to the High Court’s charity law jurisdiction
    Purposes are what your charity is set up to achieve - they are explained in your governing document. To be charitable, your charity’s purposes must:

    fall within the descriptions of purposes
    be for the public benefit
    As to what the 'public benefit' means, you can read up here

    The legal opinion on what public benefit means is:
    “To ascertain whether a gift constitutes a valid charitable trust so as to escape being void on the ground of perpetuity, a first inquiry must be whether it is public - whether it is for the benefit of the community or of an appreciably important class of the community. The inhabitants of a parish or town, or any particular class of such inhabitants, may, for instance, be the objects of such a gift, but private individuals, or a fluctuating body of private individuals, cannot.”

    I suspect that our members would be 'a fluctuating body of private individuals'.

  • Members 19 posts
    April 14, 2023, 10:52 a.m.

    Volunteer contributions? Or are you putting up a pay wall? Just wondering.

  • April 14, 2023, 12:11 p.m.

    No pay wall. In what sense do you mean 'volunteer contributions'?

  • Members 3 posts
    April 14, 2023, 2:50 p.m.

    Not Leicas, Corgis!

  • Members 193 posts
    April 14, 2023, 3:10 p.m.

    [/quote]
    Not Leicas, Corgis!
    [/quote]

    Full frame or crop corgis ?

  • Members 7 posts
    April 14, 2023, 3:10 p.m.

    Yes. "The photographer" means any and every photographer in this context. It's correct grammar.

    "Photoshop is a great tool for the digital photographer" would be another use of the same construction, and few would believe that means just one photographer.

  • April 14, 2023, 5:39 p.m.

    Thanks Steve. That was the way my thought processes went.

  • Members 153 posts
    April 14, 2023, 6:04 p.m.

    I'm fine with it however Bob chooses it to be. However, "The Photographer's" come across wrong to me, as it comes across as Bob's (The photographer) Foundation. While I'm perfectly fine with that, "The Photographers'" comes across as more all inclusive, a group thingy, which I think is more the intent of how it's set up. Grammatically correct or not, it just looks wrong and against the idea it was set up under. To me of course.

    And I think your example is not a good one. "Great tool for the digital photographer" is obvious; "The Photographer's Foundation" is ambiguous and required an explanation.

    But it's Bob's baby, he's British, maybe what we call upper crust British, I'm just a dumbass Canadian who spends his time saying "eh" So what do I know? :) :)

    All's good.

  • Members 507 posts
    April 14, 2023, 6:13 p.m.

    This is all Asimov references, isn't it. Kind of like star wars for crinklies. Seldon lives!

  • Members 507 posts
    April 14, 2023, 6:25 p.m.

    1985 was when I started work in London at the National Audit Office. On my first day I found this book dumped in a cupboard. It was called "Voices from the sky;: Previews of the coming space age" by someone called Arthur C Clarke. Inside was a handwritten dedication "To the Exchequer and Audit Department [former name of the NAO] whose working arrangements allowed me plenty of time to work on these ideas". Clarke "worked" as an auditor at the E&AD. I've thought of that book often, and wanted to swipe it as no one cared about it, but alas someone got there first (or it went into a skip).

    VAT was administered by Customs&excise, not the Revenue.

  • panorama_fish_eye

    Thread has been unpinned.