I must have made a curious sight ; striding across the fields , puppy running afor and a mobile glued to my ear. It was such a glorious day I decided to head off to the Plough Inn at Finstock , an ancient hostelry , thatched roof and fine beers. But on the way I get a call from The Guardian for an update on the financial crisis. It is one of many . And although the Sundays did not give us a lot of coverage there was a very good piece in the Business Observer where I get the chance to make a wider case on tax relief .
I venture the opinion that the Government will compensate the charities for their Icelandic losses . The meeting at HM Treasury went well and though no firm promises I think it is inconceivable this Government would not put charities at the top of their list for money back . I trust I will not be disappointed . The key is now to get emergency support . I point out that there are large sums in HMT in unclaimed gift aid . That should simply be handed over . And a reform of the system by giving all tax reliefs to charity , including the relief for the higher rate tax payer. Most higher rate payers don't claim the extra tax back so again the HMT benefits from a windfall that really ought to go to charity . A reform here would make a great difference to those charities losing donations.
It is time we heard a statement from Government on this . The pressure must continue . We cannot be satisfied till we get support to see us through .
Robert Peston is now an inescapable presence on the news bulletins ( I like his Duchamp ties , but he appears to only have 2 and they are getting boring ), and today I was reading he is an inveterate blogger . It was his blog apparently that revealed the banks view that Government was not acting fast enough and so caused a further fall on the Stock Market . Blogs have power it seems ! But somehow I guess he has more readers...
But what a great weekend .Charlbury in the autumnal sun , the glorious colours in the trees , is a marvellous place to be . After the strains of last week its rejuvenating . Ready for more battles. Next week will be action packed ; my annual Board strategic away day on Tuesday and our International Global Leaders Forum on Thursday and meetings on the crisis in between times.
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