Charities Rise, Costing U.S. Billions in Tax Breaks

The number of U.S. organizations able to offer donors a charitable tax break has grown by more than 60 percent in the past decade, with the Internal Revenue Service now approving applications for charity status at a rate of one every 10 to 15 minutes. There are now 1.1 million such groups, and the IRS approved 99 percent of charity applications last year, according to the Stanford study. Tax-deductible donations reduced federal coffers by $50-billion last year, the article said.

Full text article by Stephanie Strom is available via The New York Times, 12/5/09.

Obama Sticks to Charitable-Deduction Limits in New Budget Proposals

President Obama plans to stick to his proposal to cap the federal tax breaks wealthy people can get for itemized deductions, including charitable donations, when he submits the final piece of his budget plans on Monday, Peter Orszag, the White House budget director, confirmed.

Full-text article by Suzanne Perry is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 5.9.09.

Taxes and Charitable Giving

Much discussion has centered around the Obama Administration's budget proposal to reduce the maximum deduction on charitable gifts. Eugene R. Tempel, President of the Indiana University Foundation offers his perspective via the IUF website.

Tax Change Should Not Affect Charities, Obama Says

Under the plan announced in Obama's budget in February, tax deductions for charitable contributions from people earning $250,000 a year or more would be limited to 28 percent, down from 35 percent.

Charity groups worry that the change will reduce giving at a time when demand for their services is rising because of the recession.

Obama said it would simply bring the tax benefits for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans in line with everyone else who gives to soup kitchens, medical research groups and other charities.

Full-text article by Andy Sullivan is available via Reuters, 3.24.09.

A Deduction From Charity

President Obama's proposal to limit the tax deductibility of charitable contributions would effectively transfer more than $7 billion a year from the nation's charitable institutions to the federal government. But the high-income taxpayers affected by the rule change are likely to cut their charitable giving by as much as the increase in their tax bills, which would, ironically, leave their remaining income and personal consumption unchanged.

Full-text editorial by Martin Feldstein is available via The Washington Post, 3.25.09.

Will Obama Tax Plan Hurt Religious Groups?

President Obama's proposed 2010 federal budget contains a 7% cut in charitable tax deductions for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. Some religious groups are asking how that will affect their bottom line.

Full-text article by Karin Hamilton is available via The USA Today, 3.22.09.

Handing Over the Keys

A growing number of older homeowners are arranging for their houses to go to charity, deciding it's the ultimate good deed (with great tax benefits to boot).

Full-text article by Jenna Pelletier is available via The Boston Globe, 3.22.09.

Giving and Taxes

President Obama’s plan to cap itemized deductions for high-income taxpayers at a 28 percent rate flew like a lead balloon in Congress, reportedly sending the White House in search for other sources of revenue.

Full-text editorial available via The New York Times, 3.19.09.

Obama's Tax Plan Will Hurt Nonprofits

A 28% cap on deductions would reduce giving at a time when charities already are reeling.

Full-text article by Sandy Weill is available via BusinessWeek, 3.12.09.

The Charity Revolt

Among those shocked by President Obama's 2010 budget, the most surprising are the true-blue liberals who run most of America's nonprofits, universities and charities.

Full-text opinion piece is available via The Wall Street Journal, 3.11.09.

British Fund Raisers Warn Against Changing Gift Tax Break

British fund-raising experts consulted by Third Sector Online warn against adapting the Obama administration’s plan to curb tax breaks for upper-income donors to the comparable British program, known as Gift Aid.

The British tax-collection authority, HM Revenue & Customs, is conducting research on how much tax breaks motivate giving.

In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal blasts the Obama plan, noting appeals by “the true-blue liberals,” which the paper says dominate the nonprofit world, against trimming the charitable deduction for households earning more than $250,000 a year.

Full-text article by Hannah Jordan is available via The ThirdSector, 3.10.09.

LIVE: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11: Obama's Charitable-Giving Plan: What It Means for Nonprofit Groups

As President Obama seeks to reduce the value of the charitable deduction for wealthy Americans, fund raisers and other nonprofit experts are divided over whether his idea would cause any substantial change in charitable giving.

What would this proposal really mean for the nonprofit world? How will donors react? How does it mesh with the president's other tax proposals? What should your organization be communicating to its supporters about this plan?

Join The Chronicle for a special live discussion with Bruce Flessner and other experts who can answer these and other questions about this controversial proposal.

Wednesday, March 11, at 11 a.m., U.S. Central Time

For more information visit The Chronicle of Philanthropy's website.

Economists Try to Calculate the Impact of Tax Changes on Charitable Giving

Virtually everyone agrees that President Obama's proposal to limit the tax breaks wealthy people can get for charitable contributions would dampen giving. The question is, by how much? And would other parts of the president's budget plan act as a counterweight?

Full-text article by Suzanne Perry is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3.9.09. [Subscription required.]

Obama Tax Plan: Democrats Push Back

One of the most controversial provisions in President Obama's proposed budget might have a short shelf life on Capitol Hill.

To pay for half of his $634 billion health reform fund, Obama has proposed limiting deductions for high-income taxpayers starting in 2011.

Full-text article by Jeanne Sahad is available via CNN, 3.5.09.

Charitable-Giving Plan Divides Nonprofit Groups and Worries Donors

As President Obama seeks to reduce the value of the charitable deduction for wealthy Americans, fund raisers and other nonprofit experts are divided over whether his idea would cause any substantial change in charitable giving.

“Every time people want to fool around with the tax code, [charities] say it will be the end of philanthropy,” said Bruce Flessner, a Minneapolis fund-raising consultant. “I don’t think it will kill giving.”

Full-text article by Holly Hall is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3.2.09.

Obama's Tax Plan Could Cause Giving by the Wealthy to Drop by Several Billion Dollars Annually

President Obama’s tax proposals — including a limit on charitable giving deductions that could be taken by America’s wealthiest people — could cause giving by America’s wealthy to drop by several billion dollars a year, according to estimates released today by the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.

Full-text article is available via The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 3.2.09.

Jewish Groups Criticize Change in Charitable Deduction in Obama Budget

A trio of Jewish organizations criticized a proposed change in the charitable tax deduction included in President Obama's 2010 budget.

The United Jewish Communities, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Orthodox Union all expressed concern about a provision in the budget that would lower the charitable deduction for taxpayers earning more than $250,000 to 28 percent from 35 percent. The groups said such a change would have a significant neagive impact on giving.

Full-text article by Eric Fingerhut is available via JTA.com, 2.27.09.

Short-Changing Charities

Although President Barack Obama hopes to help the poor by providing government-regulated health care, his plan to pay for it might actually cause those same people harm.

Full-text article by Daniel Indiviglio is available via Forbes, 2.26.09.