A justifiable business expense?

[Walter]

A commercial venture people should avoid, if they want all their donations to go to a charity!

I saw I sign once, don't remember where, it said
'DONT FEED THE ANIMALS'

[Robbie]

 
Not surprising they cry - We've gotta get out of this place!

[Owlswing]

Owlswing chartered accountants can earn a lot of money depending on their specialty.Not much point in studying for years & doing very expensive examinations without some financial reward at the end of it.

http://www.icaewjobs.com/article/icaew-salary-survey-2013-/

Those who work for charitable organisations have often had a career in business and want to do something else later on in life.They've made their pile, kids grown up, house paid for and so can afford to work for less than the usual rate. Also a less corporate environment appeals - something I understand.

Charities often employ a firm of accountants/auditors who specialise in charities.

If they have, and I quote, made their pile, then take £ 30 grand from a charirty that is pure unadulterated greed!

[Harrowby Hall]

If they have, and I quote, made their pile, then take £ 30 grand from a charirty that is pure unadulterated greed!

Even if that charity is Eton College?

[Robbie]

If they have, and I quote, made their pile, then take £ 30 grand from a charirty that is pure unadulterated greed!

People are entitled to earn their living Owlswing. Charities have to employ people, even charity shops have manager & under manager who earn a salary albeit not as big a one as they would if they worked somewhere like Debenhams.. Same goes for theirarea managers, office staff, HR, maintenance people. They keep their costs down as far as possible.

It's not greedy to want money to put food on the table!

When I'm 65 if i'm still fit I'll be happy to volunteer in some capacity but right now I earn which is right & proper..

[Owlswing]

Even if that charity is Eton College?

If Eton were a charity - I cannot imagine it is!

[Owlswing]

People are entitled to earn their living Owlswing. Charities have to employ people, even charity shops have manager & under manager who earn a salary albeit not as big a one as they would if they worked somewhere like Debenhams.. Same goes for theirarea managers, office staff, HR, maintenance people. They keep their costs down as far as possible.

It's not greedy to want money to put food on the table!

When I'm 65 if i'm still fit I'll be happy to volunteer in some capacity but right now I earn which is right & proper..

You posted:

Quote - Those who work for charitable organisations have often had a career in business and want to do something else later on in life.They've made their pile, kids grown up, house paid for and so on -  quote

If they have done this and £ 30k is below their usual rate, their pension  will be a sizeable chunk of cash - stop trying to justify greed!

[Robbie]

OK Owlswing. I don't see wanting a decent salary as greed, we'll have to disagree.

People aren't gonna work for nothing though. They might donate some time free of charge to a good cause but not the same hours as paid  members of staff.

Unless someone is a millionaire they will need to earn until they get their pension and not many of us are millionaires.Even people reasonably comfortable are not going to want to deplete their capital in the present climate, especially with the uncertainty about care in their old age.
However they're probably not looking for a top of the scale job with its attendant pressures.

SENSE is a charity for the deaf-blind. They employ specialist teachers, helpers and maintain centres for learning and living & holiday places. The full time staff have to be paid. They can't rely solely on volunteers.

[Harrowby Hall]

If Eton were a charity - I cannot imagine it is!

Well, grow a better imagination then.

Wikipedia:

Until 18 December 2010, Eton College was an exempt charity under English law (Charities Act 1993, Schedule 2). Under the provisions of the Charities Act 2006, it is now an excepted charity, and fully registered with the Charities Commission,[87] and is now one of the 100 largest charities in the UK.[88] As a charity, it benefits from substantial tax breaks. It was calculated by the late David Jewell, former Master of Haileybury, that in 1992 such tax breaks saved the School about £1,945 per pupil per year, although he had no direct connection with the School. This subsidy has declined since the 2001 abolition by the Labour Government of state-funded scholarships (formerly known as "assisted places") to independent schools. However, no child attended Eton on this scheme, meaning that the actual level of state assistance to the School has always been lower. Eton's retiring Head Master, Tony Little, has claimed that the benefits that Eton provides to the local community free of charge (use of its facilities, etc.) have a higher value than the tax breaks it receives as a result of its charitable status. The fee for the academic year 2010–2011 was £29,862 (approximately US$48,600 or €35,100 as of March 2011),[89] although the sum is considerably lower for those pupils on bursaries and scholarships

Your understanding of the term "Charity" may be a little restricted.

[Bubbles]

People are entitled to earn their living Owlswing. Charities have to employ people, even charity shops have manager & under manager who earn a salary albeit not as big a one as they would if they worked somewhere like Debenhams.. Same goes for theirarea managers, office staff, HR, maintenance people. They keep their costs down as far as possible.

It's not greedy to want money to put food on the table!

When I'm 65 if i'm still fit I'll be happy to volunteer in some capacity but right now I earn which is right & proper..

When I'm 65 I'll still be working 

And the younger people are the longer they will have to wait to retire.

[Bubbles]

So many things are supported by retired volunteers, from the Red Cross to meals on wheels, hospital shops, lifts to hospital and home for pensioners etc.

I wonder what is going to happen to volunteering once the retirement age goes up to 70?

More and more we might find charities will have to pay people something, or struggle to find volunteers.

You won't have the large group of fit retired pensioners to cope with doing it for free anymore.

It's going to be a hard world in the future, where people will be working until they drop!

Once again the government doesn't really appreciate the scale of what fit retired people do, only that its money saved by the government to put the pension age up.

 

[Nearly Sane]

Pension costs now take far more of govt expenditure in real terms than ever before, and that will continue to increase with the triple lock unless there is some catastrophic reversal and reduction in life expectancy.

[Robbie]

When I'm 65 I'll still be working 

And the younger people are the longer they will have to wait to retire.

You have a point there Rose. There have always been people who work longer than 65 but it can't be much fun for someone who, fo example, has to get on knees every day to mend washing machines to be forced to!

I get pension from my previous firm when I'm 60 (in three years) and one from where I've worked last 12years when I'm 65 but I like working and may want to carry on. That probably sounds greedy to some  but I get so much satisfaction from my jjob, can't bear the thought of retiring. Still no-one knows what's round the corner, all I hope for, for myself, is good health.

I could be useful working part time for a charitable organisation when I'm beyond retirement age but would be happy to donate some time especially on an ad hoc basis.

(Btw the organisation for which I now work has charitable status. The salaries are quite reasonable, not as much as outside the charity sector but I don't see any colleagues being unhappy about it. The job satisfaction is great and anyway we all have a choice.)