Wyden and Crapo On Charitable Giving

Last week, the Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing on trends in charitable giving; the Committee heard from four witnesses. And over the next couple days I plan to look at (and, of course, blog about) what those witnesses said. But I thought the opening statements of Sen. Wyden, the Chair of the Committee, and Sen. Crapo, the Ranking Member, were interesting and worth a quick glance.

Both highlighted the work that nonprofits during the pandemic. Sen. Crapo praised nonprofits for “adapt[ing] to the COVID-19 situation incredibly well, often fulfilling their missions with fewer resources and volunteers or even cancelled events, all while ensuring the communities they serve were being helped.” And Sen. Wyden found that “Americans stepped up when their neighbors needed help. Charitable giving reached new highs.”

Both Senators set the stage for the government helping the charitable sector–from the Senators’ introductions, it does not look like this was at all a critical hearing. Both Senators said that supporting the nonprofit sector has the bipartisan support of the whole committee. Sen. Crapo explained that his goals include using the tax policies to encourage giving while looking forward at new challenges (including crypto and crowdfunding).

And Sen. Wyden mentioned the fact that the doubling of the standard deduction had eliminated the tax benefits of charitable giving for a substantial portion of taxpayers. He seems to want to focus on extending the small above-the-line charitable deduction as well as provide direct aid to help nonprofit organizations keep their doors open.

It will be interesting to see what the witnesses said and where the federal government goes from here.

Samuel D. Brunson