Of all the petty actions by this Government, meanwhile, the refusal to reimburse the VAT occuring from the Ethiopian charity record stands in a penny pinching class of its own. The record, 'Do they know it's Christmas,' pop altruism at its best, soared straight to the top of the hit parade. Sung by the mega session group, Band Aid - including such video virtuosos as Duran Duran, Sting and Boy George - it could well raise over pounds 3 million for the people of Ethiopia. Seventy per cent of the cover price of pounds 1.35 goes into the charity fund established by Mr Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats. A unique blend (you might say) of Victorian philanthropy and Thatcherite entrepreneurial initiative. All of the participants gave their services free. Except the taxman. Mrs Thatcher's comment that 'in fairness' the Government couldn't contribute VAT to the fund while refusing it in all other cases betrays an overriding lack of fairness to the children of Ethiopia for whom the contributions are intended. It is no defence to say that the Government is already contributing millions of pounds to Ethiopia from other sources. The point is that money handed over for the record is intended by nearly everyone who buys it as a direct contribution to famine relief. If Whitehall keeps the VAT , an extra pounds 500,000 which could have been spent on food will not be. Nor is it any excuse to plead (as does Sir Thomas Padmore) that a tax exemption by the executive would be a 'fundamentally unconstitutional interference' with Parliament's control of taxation by statute.
All that is being asked is that the Government, having taken the VAT , should reimburse the aid fund with a comparable amount from the Treasury's petty cash. The issue has already got to the stage where official stubbornness can only be explained by a reluctance to be seen climbing down rather than a rational decision on the merits of the case. Mrs Thatcher would do herself no harm to admit this and prove that her concern for people is greater than for procedures. A tax on knowledge may be difficult to swallow. A tax on hunger (Christmas, or no Christmas) sticks in the craw.
