Budget Plan Addresses Tax Treatment of Sports Events, Facilities
In what has become an annual event, Obama for the seventh time has proposed reducing the value of the deduction for charitable contributions, and the charitable community is again voicing displeasure.
The provision would cap the value of itemized deductions, including the charitable deduction, at 28 percent for upper-income taxpayers. Increasing the tax liability of taxpayers with higher incomes would cut the deficit, make the income tax system more progressive, and spread the cost of government more fairly among taxpayers of different income levels, according to Treasury.
But David L. Thompson of the National Council of Nonprofits voiced opposition, saying the proposal would hurt charitable giving. "It's clearly a bad idea," Thompson told Tax Analysts, calling the proposal "part of the usual Obama boilerplate." He said he did not expect the administration to make an aggressive push for the proposal, explaining that "it's easier to include it than it is to take it out and explain why he's not pushing it anymore."