- The Upper Tribunal (UT) case of United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) dealt with whether subscriptions paid by freemasons are exempt from VAT.
- UGLE claimed that its subscription income was exempt, but HMRC declined to make the repayments.
- UGLE is an unincorporated association with approximately 175,000 members and 6,500 local Lodges.
- An organization can still qualify for exemption if it has multiple aims, as long as all main aims fall within the listed exemptions.
- The First-Tier Tribunal concluded that UGLE’s services were not exempt from VAT and that it does not have a civic aim.
- The judge decided that the supplies made by UGLE in return for subscription payments should be standard rated.
- The motives of the members in joining the organization are irrelevant.
- While freemasonry has become more involved in charitable work, the judge was not convinced that these works were undertaken specifically as freemasons.
- UGLE has aims of a philosophical, philanthropic, and civic nature, but they are not considered the main or primary aims.
- Support for freemasons and their dependants remains one of the main aims of freemasonry and UGLE.
Source: marcusward.co
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
