Revenue and Customs is denying tax privileges that go with charity status to Wiki UK Ltd., or Wikimedia UK. Thus UK tax man denies Wikipedia UK charity status. 

As Wikipedia claims to be "disseminating knowledge", Wiki UK requested the operating company should obtain charitable tax perks. The company is aiming to aid and encourage people to collect, develop and effectively disseminate knowledge and other educational, cultural and historic content in the public domain or under a license that allows everyone to freely use, distribute and modify content. 

However, the tax man denied the request, stating "The production of an encyclopaedia is not the charitable advancement of education and has not been accepted as such in law... If the object [should] be the mere increase of knowledge it is not in itself a charitable object unless it is combined with teaching or education."

The problem could be solved if, as everyone expects, Wikipedia becomes a commercial operation that doesn't need charitable status. Wikipedia already received $1.35m from Elevation Partners. Mozilla Foundation in turn provides a workable legal precedent: a non-profit with a commercial wing. 

Source: The Register