Back when he was trying to justify his vote for Trump’s billionaire tax cuts, Senator Marion Michael Rounds claimed that enacting those tax cuts would lead to more charitable giving:
…Over 100 U.S. companies have already announced plans to increase wages, pay yearly bonuses, increase 401K matches and expand charitable contributions because of the tax reform bill… [Sen. Mike Rounds, “Tax Reform Can Enhance 2018 Goals,” 2018.01.05].
Maybe those supposed 100-plus companies followed through, but America at large did not. Since Trump cut taxes for the rich, charitable giving is down:
Under the 2017 law, the standard deduction nearly doubled to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for couples. For most Americans, that increase meant that they no longer needed to itemize their deductions — including charitable contributions.
Many charities have reported declines in giving since the law went into effect. In the first half of this year, fundraising revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same period last year for more than 4,000 organizations tracked by the Fundraising Effectiveness Project.
And in 2018, total charitable contributions from individual Americans was down 3.4%, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
“The sector is hurting,” said Steve Taylor, senior vice president and counsel for public policy at the United Way, the largest American charity.
“We believe there is a direct cause and effect between the tax law and the drop in giving,” said Taylor, whose organization receives donations from across the income spectrum [Nova Safo, “Charities Worry Giving Will Fall for a Second Straight Year,” Marketplace, 2019.12.02].
Ignore Senator Rounds and his naked confabulations. The Trump tax cuts are doing exactly what they were designed to do: slow the flow of resources to folks in need and help Trump’s silk-suited pals continue their insatiable drive to hoard every penny for themselves.
Why does Greedy Goober hate people in need so much? Guilt? Jealousy? Sociopathy?
At ReStore, they don’t even bother giving you a receipt for tax giving because it doesn’t count anymore. Everything the republican touches, turns to crap right before your eyeballs. EB5 Rounds is one of the biggest turds of them all and he is ours boys, completely unaccountable for any of his actions.
Ms. Debbo, republicans don’t hate the poor just prior to election day and on that day. They spend 100’s of millions of dollars telling the poor how great they have it…thanks to them… The poor eat that crap up too…because they’re poor.
Comrade Rounds appears to favor an American oligarch system. Perhaps Mikhail Rounds would be a better name than Marion Michael. Then he would feel more comfortable with Moscow Mitch.
I will again insert in any discussion about charitable giving, the definition of “charity” is NOT the common idea we all intuitively hold. Not all 501(c)s’ and especially not 501(c)4’s are of praise-worthy “charitable” value — even though they harbor wonderful tax breaks for contributing.
Good one, Dave.
Mikhail Rounds. I want to remember that. What’s the Russia version of John? I guess I could just call Thune July 4 John, as a reminder of where he celebrates America’s dependence.
O, I believe contributions to 501(c)3 orgs are tax deductible, but not 501(c)4s.
Righties have misused the 501(c)3 designation for orgs that are not truly charitable. They are truthfully political in nature, like the 501(c)4s, but mask it/lie about it and the IRS they have decimated lacks the necessities to investigate them properly.
Deb, when talking tax code, there is ALWAYS a work around:
” . . .depending on the nature of the donor’s business, certain contributions to a 501(c)(4) may be considered deductible as business expense. Determining when this deduction applies can be complicated, and donors should be advised to contact an accountant before taking the deduction.” https://info.legalzoom.com/difference-between-501c3-501c4-26450.html
This may be an example of correlation not necessarily being causation. One of the biggest trends in charitable giving is the reduced support for religious congregations over the past decade or two. Amount of dollars and number of donors to churches, synagogues, etc., have traditionally outpaced other types of charitable giving. This is no longer the case. See: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fewer-americans-are-giving-money-to-charity-and-it-could-be-because-theyre-spending-less-time-at-church-2019-10-28.
BTW, for o and Debbo – gifts to 501(c)(4) groups are not deductible as charitable gifts. However, there are limited circumstances when payments paid to 501(c)(4) groups might be deductible as business expenses.