If the Kids Company case is upheld in Court, Mr Bompas QC warned that the Charity Commission might have to advise people they should not become trustees if there was any uncertainty about a charity's financial position. Would the definition of uncertainty include the situation where a charity has a pension scheme deficit. Such deficits have been in the news in recent years, particularly where they have contributed to the failure of a major trading company. Gordon Brown's tax changes made defined pensions too risky for most private sector employers. However, they are still common in the public sector where risk rests with the taxpayer. Who will fund any pension deficits of charities - taxpayers and donors ? https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032415/how-does-defined-benefit-pension-plan-differ-defined-contribution-plan.asp
Trading Charities and Charity Shops Some charities "trade" as part of their primary purpose. https://www.charitytaxgroup.org.uk/tax/income-corporate-taxes/trading/806-2/ Other than this, why would a charity want to trade ? In order to sell the stuff it receives from donors or maybe just to make more money, I hear you say. There are a number of ways a charity might trade. Perhaps the most common is the "chari ty shop" which, in particular, might be set up so that the charity can sell the "stuff" which is donated to it. What's wrong with that I hear you ask. Maybe nothing, I reply. The donors get rid of their unwanted second hand stuff. The shoppers get something they want, at a very reasonable price. In the middle, the charity makes some money for it to spend on its good causes and the rubbish which might otherwise go to landfill is reduced. What's not to like ? I suppose that would depend on how many "