In the U.K. today, charities doing good are struggling on all fronts. Government funding is down, trusts and foundations have less income to give away, donations from the general public are under pressure. And demand for charity services are up. In the midst of all this, George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, is proposing to cap tax relief on charitable donations.

The voluntary sector has pretty much declared war against Osborne’s plan, and several of the U.K.’s most visible Jewish charities have lent their voices in support.

from TotallyJewish.com (UK):

Communal charities round on George Osborne over tax plan

More than 800 top charities, including the British Heart Foundation, the Charities Aid Foundation and Cancer Research UK, as well as the Jewish Leadership Council and Jewish Care, have signed up to the Give it Back George campaign, to persuade the Chancellor to drop his plans, outlined in the Budget.

They warned that the cap, set at 25 percent of a donor’s income if he or she gave more than £50,000, would hurt charities that were already struggling because donations had dried up amid the economic downturn.

The JLC said that the “charity tax”, as it has been dubbed, had “potentially serious implications for charities which benefit from very large gifts. The Government have recognised this and wants to explore with philanthropists ways to ensure the new limit will not significantly impact upon charities that depend on large donations.