Federal
Three-fourths of Americans Support Tax Incentives for Charity
WASHINGTON, D.C.— A new study on attitudes toward charitable giving shows overwhelming support for private giving to charity as well as support for the charitable deduction. This study comes on the heels of the President stepping away from his previous proposals to limit the charitable deduction.
“The results of this survey reflect what ACR and the nonprofit sector know to be true: the charitable deduction and incentives to give are important,” said Sue Santa, senior vice president for public policy at The Philanthropy Roundtable. “We hope the President and Congress recognize the importance of this incentive to give in the same way the American people do.”
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By Rep Robin Hayes
Published by The Hill newspaper
For the last 3 years, we have been able to rely on President Obama for a few things in his budget proposals. Obviously increased spending comes to mind, but something else has been particularly disturbing: his attack on philanthropy and charities.
While there is hope the president has heard the voices of the charitable community, he needs to be clear about his plans and there are three reasons why…
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The President released his FY2013 budget plan on Monday, February 13th. The document featured a 28 percent limitation on itemized deductions, including the charitable deduction, for households earning more than $250,000 a year. This was identical to the proposal included in his last three budgets.
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BNA
By Diane Freda
The charitable contribution deduction is the only deduction that would be allowed under the Buffett rule tax proposed by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), in legislation that would ensure that millionaires pay a minimum effective 30 percent tax rate, charitable sources told Bloomberg BNA Feb. 2.
“The legislation builds on what the president’s blueprint stated, which was that the administration is going to impose the [Buffett rule tax] on individuals with certain high incomes, but is going to hold harmless their contributions to charity,” Sandra Swirski, executive director of the Alliance for Charitable Reform, said.
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WASHINGTON, D.C.— In announcing “The Paying the Fair Share Act”, a proposal for a new tax on high earners put forth by 8 Senate Democrats, the charitable deduction was specifically preserved, signaling that incentives for private giving should not be used as a revenue offset for competing priorities.
“ACR believes that our tax code should encourage and incentivize private charitable giving. We appreciate the wide recognition that the charitable deduction is different from all other deductions in that it is an incentive for Americans to give away their money as compared to other deductions and credits. However, ACR also believes that encouraging entrepreneurship and the creation of wealth is vital to sustaining charitable giving and a surtax on high income earners could hinder this goal. We are hopeful Congress and the Administration can come together and create a proposal that accomplishes all of these goals to promote more philanthropy,” said Sue Santa, senior vice president of the Philanthropy Roundtable.
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Consider This…
Ok, we admit it. We’re geeks. Policy geeks. Tax policy geeks if the truth be told.
Normally when we tell someone our specialty is tax, we get an eye roll, or worse. Unless we are with our tax policy peers, we often feel like the skunk at the garden party.
So imagine our sense of wonder over all of the activity in tax world in the last few months. First, Herman Cain gave us 9-9-9, next…
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The latest edition of the ACR newsletter is available below. Here are highlights:
Upcoming Event Summit for Leaders
Washington Roundup:
- State of the Union
- Legislative Activity
Consider This:Tax Policy Geeks Take Center Stage—Tax Plans and Reform
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Further Reading
Bloomberg BNA
This morning BNA reported that the Administration may be stepping back from previous proposals to cap charitable deductions at 28 percent.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
“The past three budgets the president has submitted have included a limit to the charitable deduction in every single one of them, through limiting itemized deductions,” said Sandra Swirski, director of Alliance for Charitable Reform. “He’s also raised limiting the charitable deduction as a pay-for in at least two of his bills, one on health care, the other a jobs bill. So it keeps coming up.”
However, Swirski said she is now “cautiously optimistic” that when the president’s budget is revealed Feb. 13, Obama’s “stepping away” from the proposal will be clear….
Read the full article here
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ACR is cautiously optimistic that all the pressure we and others have brought to bear may finally be resonating with the Administration. We believe that our tax code should encourage and incentivize private charitable giving. We appreciate that the President seems to acknowledge the value of charitable giving but we remain cautious and won’t speculate until we see the details of the President’s plan.
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Well the curtain is up on 2012. What should we expect from Washington this year? The short answer is not much until the bitter end.
The longer answer: If you thought last year was a nightmare on Capitol Hill, this year is likely to be a whole lot worse. With control of the Presidency, Senate and House all up in the air, it is going to be all politics, all the time.
So what can we expect in the short term?
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