Charity donations made in lieu of presents are becoming common gifts at birthdays and Christmas tiffany. Now a new beneficiary is being marketed alongside victims of famine and endangered species: HM Treasury.
Britain’s national debt, currently at record peacetime levels, has become a charitable cause.
The Charities Advisory Trust, which has offered to collect donations and send them to the Treasury to help “whittle down Britain’s national debt”, has already received individual gifts of up to 500 from publicly minded citizens.
The scheme is being promoted as an ideal Christmas present for those worried about bequeathing the legacy of the banking crisis to the next generation. “Why lumber your descendants with a staggering debt burden?” the advertisements ask. “A wonderful present for children and grandchildren … Now is the time to start reducing the National Debt in their names”.
A donation of 20 is suggested, although bankers feeling weighed down by guilt have the tiffany key rings option to pay in 1,000. Higher rate taxpayers should be able to claim back tax relief on donations made to the Treasury, according to PwC, the professional services firm.
Dame Hilary Blume, director of the Charities Advisory Trust which disburses donations to charities, said that although the idea had raised eyebrows, money was already arriving. “This is a way for people to feel that they are helping,” she said. “People feel that the only way we can sort out this situation is if we all take responsibility.”
The scheme evokes the “I’m backing Britain” campaign of the late 1960s, when office workers volunteered to stay at their desks for an extra half-hour each day in order to help the flagging economy, while the Treasury received envelopes containing “conscience cash” from the public to pay off government debt.
Public-spirited action on national debt is not confined to the UK. In the US, contributions to tiffany necklaces reduce the country’s debt have been on the rise this year, at just more than $3m, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt.
Unfortunately for the Treasury, it will take more than 20 a person to dig Britain out of its fiscal hole. John Sibson, partner and government and public sector leader at PwC, estimates the current debt equates to 17,000 for each adult in the country.
The Budget predicts a deficit of 175bn this year and debt is expected to more than double from 37 per cent of national income to almost 80 per cent by 2015. Accountancy firms say high levels of national debt could lead to persistently high interest rates, higher currency volatility and uncertainty for tiffany bangles on sale business.