Following our previous post concerning the new guidance on CASC, HMRC’s David McDowell has clarified the inferred fixed limits on fees and costs associated with membership as follows:
“There is no legislative provision for membership costs to increase with inflation. Accordingly, the costs are fixed, at least for the present.
There is a number of reasons for this. Firstly, as I’m sure you are aware, inflation is very low at present. Secondly, an amount which stays fixed is less likely to be a cause of error than an amount which changes every year. Thirdly, while the existing limits may not seem generous in the context of some sports that are seen as `elite`, such as golf, the limits are generous when looked at across all sports.
We can certainly consider representations to change the existing limits once the new rules have bedded in and if the cumulative effects of inflation indicate that the existing limits are no longer realistic for sports as a whole.”
This means that clubs who are close to these limits, which can be found in sections 2.6 and 2.7 here, will have to decide if they should stay with CASC and hope that HMRC revise them upwards at a later date before the club reaches those limits. If not then, at present, the option could be to deregister before the deadline of 1st April 2016.
By GCMA
