Although the initial concept of tax-deductible contributions is good, reasonable, and valuable,
it is being abused now to extents that are hard for me to believe.
Here in PDX, we see commercial building developments being awarded
"conservation easements" in the middle of the downtown commercial area.
It's crazy... particularly when they tore down an old building to build the new one.
One developer achieved it by saying he would add a "roof garden"
NY Times
By RAY D. MADOFF
December 6, 2013
How the Government Gives
Quote:
The government does its own charitable giving, in the form of tax deductions.
When an individual makes a donation to a qualifying organization,
the federal government essentially pays a portion of that donation:
A $1,000 donation from a donor in the highest tax bracket costs that donor only $604.
The federal government kicks in the remaining $396 in the form of a reduction in taxes.
These charitable donations are estimated to cost the federal government
almost $40 billion this year alone and over half a trillion dollars in the next 10 years.
What is the public getting for this investment of resources? Sadly, not enough.
The federal government too often provides the deduction for donations
that offer little or no benefit. Consider three examples:
[1]Nonprofit hospitals are among the largest recipients of charitable donations.
Yet their activities are often indistinguishable from those of for-profit hospitals.
Both receive compensation for the services they provide.
No law requires nonprofit hospitals to provide charity care and, in fact,
many nonprofit hospitals provide less charity care than their for-profit counterparts.
[2] Conservation easements - e.g., golf courses <snip>
[3] Donor-advised trusts and foundations<snip>
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