To register as a Charity or not.. that is the question :)

[dippy52]

I posted a few times now but still cannot find the right forum for my posts ,do i post in general forums or a specific forum for my problem ? can someone please put my post in the correct forum because i don't know where to put it?

 

 

 

the church i attend does its own accounts at the end of the year and gets members to sign them without first looking through the accounts, a couple of years now there has been short falls in the accounts and one year no account sheet was given at all at the agm excuse given the treasurer hadn't had time to do them, the church is also not registered with the charity commission as they think they don't have to, a member noticed the short falls and asked another none member to help her understand them, he notified the church of the short falls and about the charity commission not being registered,

 

words have been exchanged and now that person has been banned from the church ,my question is this, does the church have to be registered if they are taking money from people , and should they be doing their own books, and who do you go to if you think the accounts are wrong but those in charge refuse to accept this or fob you off , and i should point out none of the people doing the books are qualified and most are just asked if they want the job, even though the church takes money off people it is running at a loss and this is why they think they don't have to register,

 

can anyone help in this matter please, sorry for putting it on here but i don't know where to go with it, thanks so much for your time.

Edited June 11, 2013 by citizenB
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[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I'm not sure which would be the best forum either. I'll flag this for the site team and see if we can get you moved to the right place for advice.

 

My best, HB

[dippy52]

Thanks,

[citizenB]

dippy, have moved you to General consumer issues for the time being

[citizenB]

http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/media/93963/cc21text.pdf

 

The link above might give you some information.

[citizenB]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/vat/intro.htm

 

And this one.

 

I will also amend your thread title so it attracts visitors

[dippy52]

Thanks ,

[steampowered]

I am not an expert in this area, but it sounds unlikely that there is a requirement to register as a charity. It is perfectly legal for people to get together as a group and act in the public good. Of course, if the organisation does not register as a charity then it is not entitled to the tax benefits of charitable status ... so there is a question-mark over whether the organisation has properly paid its tax.

 

As you are part of a church I would guess that the overall organisation (e.g. Church of England) has some guidance in place?

[dippy52]

Ok thanks,