The Charities Act 2005 and the Definition of Charitable Purposes

Abstract

The enactment of the Charities Act 2005 on 14 April 2005 marks an opportunity to take stock of the definition of charitable purposes, which is at the heart of the functions of the new Charities Commission. Registration with the Commission is confined to charitable entities. Although voluntary, registration is a precondition to significant tax exemptions. Therefore the definition of “charitable purposes” is crucial. However, there are several overlapping and anachronistic definitions which appear in charity and tax legislation, a situation which has not been improved by the Act. This was a missed opportunity to deal comprehensively with the definitions, and furthermore, to establish the Commission as a central “one-stop shop”. The extent to which this is the case is brought more clearly into focus by more substantial initiatives in other jurisdictions in the last two years, most notably the United Kingdom. This article will examine the direct impact of the Act on the definition of charitable purposes, the potential role of the Commission with regard to that definition, some recent approaches which have been taken in other jurisdictions, and an assessment of some contemporary New Zealand issues.