Charitable Deduction

Washington Roundup – Charitable Legislation, FOTH, ACR Goes to California

Editor’s Note: We’ve updated our newsletter schedule to track with the end of congressional sessions to highlight the most important developments here in Washington. The timing will vary, based on the congressional calendar, but you can expect a newsletter from us about once a month. In the meantime, we’ll be sharing significant developments through our […]

Targeting Higher Education Donors Goes Too Far

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has been a longtime champion of civil society, often taking the lead in helping to preserve and expand charitable giving during his many years in office. However, the senator’s proposal earlier this week to deny the charitable tax break to donors giving to colleges and universities where their children are […]

ACR Hosts Leading Congressional Staff at Leadership Breakfast

On Tuesday, March 12, we hosted the Alliance for Charitable Reform Leadership Breakfast in conjunction with Foundations on the Hill (FOTH). The breakfast featured a panel of senior Hill tax staff, from both sides of the aisle and the Capitol, who gave FOTH attendees an exclusive preview of the happenings on the committees where decisions […]

Data Contradict Common Myths of Donor-Advised Funds

The popularity of donor-advised funds (DAFs) has skyrocketed over the past several years, causing them to receive a larger share of charitable assets and making them responsible for a larger segment of grants to charities. This rise in popularity and responsibility of DAFs has made them a focus of criticism, much of which centers on […]

Caught Our Eye: Should Charitable Deduction be Limited for the Wealthy?

Andrew Ross Sorkin, financial columnist for the New York Times and co-anchor of CNBC’s Squawk Box, wrote a column last week examining certain proposals that would increase taxes on the wealthy. It was an insightful column addressing a topic that has certainly taken center stage with changing influences in Congress and among the American public. […]

ACR Convenes California Nonprofit Leaders to Meet with Rep. Linda Sanchez

On February 22, ACR staff and local nonprofit leaders met with Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) in her Norwalk, CA, office, to discuss the importance of charitable giving in the local community. Rep. Sanchez is a member of the Ways and Means Committee, which has sole jurisdiction over the charitable sector. We were joined by a […]

Data on Giving Starting to Come In, Along with Some Red Flags

Since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), we get one universal request when we meet with lawmakers: send us the data. They want to see concrete numbers painting a clear picture of the impact of the TCJA on charitable giving. The problem is that we won’t have a clear picture of […]

News Alert: House Ways and Means Member Introduces Legislation to Expand Charitable Giving

Last week, Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced a bill (H.R. 1260) that would create a universal charitable deduction to allow all taxpayers, regardless of whether they itemize their deductions, to deduct their charitable donations. As you may recall, the number of Americans giving to charity has been steadily declining since 2006, a trend that is […]

Caught Our Eye: It’s Not Just Congress, Charitable Giving Provisions Key Issue in State Legislatures

The tax treatment of charitable giving isn’t an issue at only the federal level; individual states wrestle with these provisions as well. The Arizona House Ways and Means Committee just approved a bill that would allow Arizona residents to claim a charitable deduction even if they also opted for a standard deduction, meaning they did […]