Tax Deductable?

I'm sure this is just applicable to the US, but I'm wondering why this method of attracting funds hasn't been developed in other countries.

For instance, in the UK if SETI@home registered itself as a UK Charity, it would be able to utilise Gift Aid.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/individuals/giving/gift-aid.htm

Whatever donations are currently made from the UK towards the project, if Gift Aid were claimed, the UK Government would send a cheque equal to the amount of Basic Income Tax paid on Individuals earning the money that they donate.

There must be similar schemes in other countries to support Charitable Giving.

If this has been discussed before, and explored in depth, and discarded as unviable, please ignore this post.
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Nothing like what you describe in the US. The best we get is a tax deduction for our donations to Non-profits. There is no matching gift from the Government. From time to time some organizations do give matching grants. There have been some here for S@H and Berkeley over the years, nothing running currently.

It does appear as if the Regents of the University of California could apply ...
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/cha1.pdf
But it also looks like they have to set up a bank account in England.

I don't know what their total donations from England are across all the campuses but perhaps it is enough for them to claim. In this day of budget crunch a little paperwork for free money can make sense. This is several layers above SETI. Perhaps the contact in the gift coordinator's office would know where to route this for the necessary public hearings.

I've contacted the donors email at berkeley to indicate to them the contents of this thread.

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No problem Eric, unless you're exposed to charity fundraising overseas you're unlikely to be aware of the efforts of the governments of other countries towards the gracious act of charitable giving, I'm sure we've opened a useful can of worms here, and that the funding might be easier to obtain than many have thought.

So we now know the situation in the US, UK, and Canada, there's guys from all over the World here, surely they can also chip in with details or links to similar schemes in their own countries.

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In Italy we can donate 5/1000 of our tax money to a no profit institution either health, support or research, but it must be registered and receive a fiscal code from the Economy Ministry. Then we put that code in our tax form and the Institution shall receive the money in due time.
Tullio

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I suppose 0.5% for free is better than a kick in the teeth.

Have we had any progress on SETI@home claiming these free monies from tax systems outside the US as yet, or does it need some sort of Committee decision on a way forward?

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Ok, thanks.
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