PROPOSED FISCAL BUDGET DRASTICALLY
EFFECTS CHARITABLE DONATIONS
Los Angeles - President Obama's proposed budget includes a tax revision that curbs the ability to reduce tax bills through charitable donations. Madeline Bernstein, President of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles ( spcaLA ) has issued a "Plea to the President" in order to draw light to this issue:
A Plea to the President.
Amidst the frenzy to fix our economy there is a potential tax code revision that would reduce the availability and size of charitable deductions. This is both shortsighted and unconscionable.
It is precisely during tough times that those on the edge of solvency need more assistance and those that were stable and proud are forced, sometimes for the first time, to ask for help. Already vulnerable classes become more so, and those who cannot ask - hope they will not be forgotten.
It is the non-profit community that often provides relief, fills the gaps, shelters the homeless (both human and animal) and provides a safety net for those falling through the cracks. Non-profits also intercede when government benefits cease. It is a cruel irony that donations drop during hard times just when they are needed the most.
This administration, in its focus on national service should make it more attractive to be philanthropic by offering maximum deductions, tax credits and other incentives for charitable giving. Such rebates would not only stimulate the economy, encourage philanthropy, promote community service - but actually save lives. The presence and effect of charities is often inchoate and amorphous. Their absence - actual misery.
Under the president's plan, itemized tax deductions for charitable giving would be capped for those earning more than $250,000 a year. Like many charities, spcaLA receives and values grass roots donations but sustaining gifts and gifts from estates provide a large bulk of the donations received.
