Stewards' Trust & Stewards' Foundation
An update!
E-mail: davaudburt@free.net.nz
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Charities Act Registration - Update
1. There will be no umbrella registration with the Charities Commission by Stewards' Trust on behalf of all Brethren Assemblies. Assemblies will need to register individually.
2 . Nevertheless, the umbrella approval obtained by Stewards' Trust in correspondence with Inland Revenue Dept. for donee status for all Brethren Assemblies remains in force. "Donee status" entitles the Assembly to give receipts for donations, which can be claimed as a tax rebate. The receipt must show on the face of it that it is given by an Open Brethren, or Christian Brethren Assembly. Even if an Assembly does not register with the Commission, it will still retain its donee status. But it will lose its entitlement to tax exemption on its income. And it becomes liable to furnish an Income Tax Return.
3. In response to the pilot application which has been lodged, the Commission will not require the presentation of a written Constitution, as long as the Assembly confirms by letter that it accepts the Governance Statement which has been prepared by Stewards' Trust. This is a general statement of how a Brethren Assembly operates. A copy of the Governance Statement appears on the website: www.stewards.org.nz
The Statement of Doctrines and Practices referred to is a copy of the Schedule forming part of the Property Trust Deed applying to all properties vested in Stewards' Trust. What is required is that the church identifies itself as an Open Brethren, or Christian Brethren Assembly, and, as stated above, accepts the Governance Statement. A copy of that Statement, together with its Schedule, needs to be presented with the Application for Registration. The letter then needs to ask for exemption from the requirement of Section 17 (c) of the Charities Act as to providing a copy of the church's Rules.
An Assembly which follows this system will receive automatic approval as a charitable entity.
4. If the Assembly already has a written Constitution, it will not require this exemption. The document may, however, need to be checked to make sure it complies with current requirements.
5. If the Assembly is planning to apply for registration with the Commission, this should be done as soon as possible. Any Certificate of Exemption you may hold in relation to Resident Withholding Tax will automatically expire on 1 July next, unless registration with the Commission has been completed (and not just lodged) by that date. At present, applications for registration are taking up to 6 months to be processed.
6. Detailed guidance on how to complete the Application forms, and how to frame a covering letter, was distributed to Assemblies in August 2007.
David Burt
Secretary
Stewards' Trust
26 April 2008