‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign goes live
Miconex is working with the GCVA who are spearheading a new campaign called ‘It’s Not Trivial’, calling for targeted intervention from HM Treasury during the autumn budget to increase the Trivial Tax Benefit from £50 to £1,500 across five non-cash gifts each year. In this article, we take a look at what the Trivial Tax Benefit is, how the increase would benefit all town and city centres, how places with their own local Gift Card would particularly benefit drawing data from Letterkenny and Enniskillen, and how you can be a part of this important action for the benefit of our towns and cities.
What is the Trivial Tax Benefit?
Introduced in 2016, the Trivial Benefits Allowance is a government tax exemption that allows employers to give small, non-cash gifts to employees of up to £50 - such as a Gift Card - multiple times each year without incurring tax or national insurance. The benefit can’t be a reward for work or performance and can’t be part of the employee’s contract or salary sacrifice. The initiative is popular with employers and employees alike. Miconex research revealed within the ‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign found that:
- 89% of employers say they use the Trivial Benefit Scheme with 52% using it 3 times a year
- 83% of employees would prefer to receive a £50 Gift Card than £50 cash through payroll
But after nearly a decade of no increase to the £50 limit, the ‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign suggests that inflation has eroded the value of the Trivial Benefit Allowance by more than 20%.
How an increase would help town and city centres
Increasing the Trivial Benefits Allowance would make it more attractive for organisations to give their staff small non-cash gifts such as Gift Cards, driving high street footfall, increasing local spend and supporting the growth of local economies. Miconex research utilised in the ‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign showed that:
- 86% of people spend more than the Gift Card value on redemption
- 33% of people spend 100–125% more than the value on the Gift Card
Locking the benefit into local communities
Miconex’s multi-award winning Town & City Gift Card initiative is active across the UK and Ireland, giving places the means to introduce their own branded Gift Card, ringfencing spend into local economies and importantly, giving organisations a local option for their employee rewards and incentives. Towns and cities with their own local Town & City Gift Card would particularly benefit from an increase in the Trivial Benefits Allowance, as evidenced with two of our Town & City Gift Card programs in Enniskillen and Letterkenny. Around 85km apart, Letterkenny in the Republic of Ireland and Enniskillen in Northern Ireland are towns with similar population sizes and a strong ‘shop local’ ethos. Yet, Letterkenny has the Small Benefit Exemption scheme with a €1,500 threshold (following an increase in January 2025) and Enniskillen has the Trivial Benefit Allowance with a £50 limit. Letterkenny achieved £7m in sales in 2024 with an average corporate order value of 17,224. In comparison, Enniskillen achieved £228,000 in sales in 2024 with an average corporate order value of £4,500.
How you can be a part of this important action for change
On the 8th July, the GCVA asked members to write to their local MP to build support for the ‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign using this template email. Simply head to the parliament website to find the name of your MP and email address, filling in the yellow sections with your role, where you’re writing from and any background on your business including its scale and presence in their constituency. The GCVA suggests that ideally, you should be looking to secure a meeting or visit that demonstrates the positive impact of your business in their community, and how raising the Trivial Benefit Allowance will boost your local contribution. The GCVA can support with the email or any briefing materials ahead of any meetings secured: gcva@wacomms.co.uk. For any Miconex clients or partners with ideas on how they can push forward the ‘It’s Not Trivial’ campaign, please get in touch at support@mi-cnx.com. Together, we can create transformative change in our UK towns and cities.