Thoughts on recent charitable deduction proposal
Last week the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Dave Camp, proposed a 2% floor on charitable deductions. The 2% floor means a taxpayer “would have to contribute at least 2% of their income to charity in order to claim a deduction.”
The proposal seems to be getting mixed reviews among those in the nonprofit world.
Steve Taylor, senior vice president of United Way Worldwide, explains, “[p]eople in America of all income levels donate to charity, and they donate what they can. This proposal is a proposal that would impact more people who are in the middle class.”
Jan Masaoka, CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits, claims the 2% floor could potentially encourage more charitable giving as some people near the floor give more money to reach the 2%.
With the charitable deduction costing the United States government about $44 billion a year, is a 2% floor an efficient reform proposal? How do arguments like Taylor’s and Masaoka’s affect the analysis?
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/03/10/capping-charitable-tax-deductions-will-hurt-nonprofits/
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