Tax Reform “Blank Slate” NAE: Preserve the Charitable Tax Deduction
By National Association of Evangelicals
Dear Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Hatch:
In light of the committee’s “blank-slate” tax reform plan, we urge you to preserve the charitable tax deduction as it currently stands.
We are encouraged that many elected leaders recognize the value of the faith community and other charities, even as tough decisions must be made to address our nation’s fiscal challenges and reform our tax system. But, unlike some other nonprofits, our organizations and members rely heavily on private donations, and we have serious concerns that the charitable deduction continues to be threatened during this debate.
Religious Charities Ask Congress to Save Charitable Deduction in Tax Overhaul
By Doug Donovan
Members of a newly formed coalition of religious charities visited Capitol Hill last week to persuade members of the Senate to back the charitable deduction as they draft recommendations for a massive federal tax overhaul that must be submitted by Friday.
Lawmakers are working to meet a deadline set by Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican, who last month wrote in a letter to their fellow senators that the only tax breaks they plan to preserve as they draft a revision to the code are those that are proven to “(1) help grow the economy, (2) make the tax code fairer, or (3) effectively promote other important policy objectives.”
Why Take Away America’s Incentive to Give?
By Susan N. Dreyfus
As lawmakers take on the gargantuan task of reforming our tax code, teams of lobbyists have already begun to line up to defend tax credits and exemptions that support special interests. There is one group of Americans, however, who do not have access to lobbyists and lawyers. They are the 1 in 5 American children who currently live below the poverty line. And a vital source of support for them may be in serious jeopardy.
In recent reports from the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation, policymakers outlined several proposals for reforming the popular charitable-giving tax exemption, which has been a part of the U.S. tax code since 1917. Among them were proposals to cap itemized deductions, convert the charitable deduction into a tax credit and impose a threshold for charitable contributions.