General Chat

the ceramic poppies put around the Tower of London can be bought for £25

I don't know about you guys, but I've wondered where the money will go.

Now we know .........................


I found the following on the internet ...................


Of the £25 that hundreds of thousands of Brits have paid for the hand-made poppies from the memorial,

only £8.75 of that will go to charity,

while £12.08 will cover 'costs'

and £4.17 will go to the taxman.


so only about one-third of the £25 is going to charity (or charities), while the largest part will go to ........................ ?????? who


That amount could add up to millions of pounds for the artist, and the business men who have backed him and the Tower of London in staging the display.




seems like a bit of a scam to me



Great pity :-(

I think it's a great concept.

I have no problem with the artist getting a "wage" from it. Artists have to eat and feed their families just like the rest of us.

I ordered one because I like them - to be honest I wouldn't have cared if no money had gone to charity. I wasn't aware that it was a charitable thing anyway, but as they WILL benefit from the sale of the pieces, that's good as far as I'm concerned.

£4.17 will go to the taxman - HMRC and The Chancellor should hang their heads in shame :-|

too right - the fallen have already given their blood for this country - now they are giving even more - disgraceful :-(

Were these poppies supposed to be made out of thin air in someones back garden by artists who don't eat or have bills to pay?

It seems like a fair 'cost' to me.

Tax seems a bit high, I would rather have seen that split between tge artist and charity. However how do we know what the break down of the costs is? I hope the artist is getting a fair share.

I bought a beautiful poppy brooch made by Buckley - bought it from QVC - £25 - and ALL profits go to the British Legion

I ordered one because I think it will be a bit of history and I like them for themselves. I don't think the price is excessive and as said by others - the artist who designed them has a living to make as do the people making them.

The charities who will benefit are:-

The Royal British Legion
The Confederation of Service Charities
Combat Stress
Coming Home
Help for Heroes
SSAFA

Kath. x

VAT. has to be paid on materials so that could be where tax is coming into it,,,

AnnCardiff

ALL profit from these ceramic poppies is going to charity just the same as your Buckley brooch. The brooch's manufacturing and selling costs still have to be paid before any profit goes to the Royal British Legion. It's 100% of PROFIT that the charity gets, NOT 100% of the amount you paid.

Kath. x

There was never any question around where the money would go.

Anyone who bought a poppy (as I did) will see from the website (and I think also on the Bri tish Legion site, although this is not where you buy them) you were told exactly where your money was going.

The last Poppy will be placed at 11 am on the 11 November, they will remain in place until the New Year, when they will start dismantling them. They will be returned to the workshop for new stands and then will be despatched to those who have bought them.

I thought charities could claim back the tax paid :-S

I could be wrong but I don't think the charities could claim back the VAT in these cases. I think it is only VAT on goods that the charities themselves buy that they can claim back.

Someone with more tax knowledge might know different.

Kath. x

Yes it is VAT. A lot of the money made will go to the man, Ben somebody who lives in The alps, who backed the artist in the first place, he stands to make over a million. It is still a lovely idea. the artist is not getting much. It was apparently always a business proposition run by I think, Heritage buildings (Tower of London). The charities say please don't stop buying as they appreciate anything they get.

When you donate goods to any charity shop you can fill out a gift aid form. They then do not have to pay tax on those items.

I have always known where the money would go,as Dazed/Confused says the charities to benefit are listed on the Tower of London site for you to see before you purchase

I have absolutely no objection to the artist receiving money, nor with the cost of materials being covered

and note even with the Tower receiving some money


however, the mention that several businessmen who had backed the project would be walking away with millions of £s does bother me


I see it as the charities losing big time ............... just think of all the extra millions that could be distributed to them

How are the charities losing?



If the project hadn't been set up the charities wouldn't have all those £8.75 times however many.

:-S

Most of the figures quoted in the article are based on guesswork. As for businessmen making money, that is how venture capitalists work. They take a risk and loan money, sometimes they get nothing back.

If venture capitalists hadn't invested in OH's company some years ago, we'd have been struggling now. And yes, they did make a profit, around 60%.