A benefactor hit by an unexpected ?460,000 tax bill because of his generosity has vowed to continue to raise money to fight cancer in memory of his wife.
Jimmy Thomas, 78, donated ?2.3 million to refurbish the Ellis Ward at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, following the death of his wife Alma in 2008.
She praised the treatment she received but was so appalled at the state of the accommodation she offered to give them a diamond ring to help pay for improvements.
Mr Thomas, however, stepped in and funded an upgrade which took a year to complete.
The ward re-opened yesterday but Mr Thomas was shocked to receive an additional bill for ?460,000 to pay for the VAT on the work.
Mr Thomas, who has a home near Loughborough, said: "The ward, which had 18 NHS beds and two private rooms, needed so much work to provide the comfort and dignity the patients so badly required, the refurbishment work was classed as a rebuild. And under the law, a rebuild is subject to VAT at 20 per cent."
Mr Thomas, who is a Conservative party donor, said: "I have sat next to David Cameron at lunch and explained this atrocious state of affairs. So far, there has been no response and frankly I am tired of waiting."
Mr Thomas made his fortune through a bingo hall empire throughout the East Midlands, which also includes an amusement arcade in Leicester.
He said: "The fact that a hospital should be slammed with a VAT bill just to improve facilities for essential NHS care is criminal. The law must be changed."
His wife Alma died from cancer on December 31, 2008, aged 74. Mr Thomas said while her treatment was excellent and staff superb, there were two toilets for 16 people and the beds were so close together doctors had to nudge a neighbouring bed out of the way to pull a privacy curtain into place.
He said he would raise the money needed to pay the VAT bill and has also established a trust for continued fund-raising for the Royal Marsden.
The Ellis Ward now provides a total of 14 beds with shared bathrooms, a break-out room for visitors and patients, and has been redesigned.
A spokesman for HM Revenue and Customs said: "Both building and refurbishment works are subject to VAT. This is the case for hospitals as with other types of building. VAT will be payable on such works, whether they are funded by government or through donation
"The tax system provides a range of very generous tax reliefs to support charitable giving. Gift Aid alone adds around ?1 billion annually to charity coffers."
Link:
Thanks for donation – now here's the VAT bill | This is Leicestershire
I am proud of our Queen, It's just our greedy government that lets this country down.
Mr Thomas has the ability to increase his donation and I admire his generosity but in this circumstances I would ask our Govt to either send an invoice to the revenue asking for repayment of the 2.3million as he was unaware this would be classed as some sort of business venture and therefore he considers the funds to be a loan to the NHS repayable.
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