Charity and the myth of the presumptions

Abstract

Charitable status in England and Wales depends, in part, on an institution’s purposes being ‘for the public benefit’ and this article focuses on the statutory subsection, introduced in 2006, which states that ‘it is not to be presumed that a purpose of a particular description is for the public benefit’. After examining the impact that the provision has had in practice, it analyses the claim that this provision altered the law by abolishing a presumption of public benefit that had applied previously in respect of poverty, education and religion, and further examines the alleged consequences, namely that charities must prove that they provide public benefit and that case law may no longer be reliable. It concludes that no such presumption existed previously, that the law has not changed and that the alleged consequences are flawed.