Nonprofits Wrong to Oppose Obama Tax ChangesRandy Shawbyline‚ Mar. 24‚ 2009Nonprofit organizations across the nation are expressing opposition to one of the most progressive parts of the Obama budget: reducing the tax break for itemized deductions, including charitable contributions, that are taken by individuals making over $200,000 a year or married couples earning over $250,000. Under the plan, a taxpayer in the highest bracket who gives $100,000 a year to charity can deduct only $28,000 a year, not $35,000. Obama’s plan directs the tax savings toward universal health care. Charities are concerned that reduced deductions will translate into reduced donations, hurting nonprofits just as foundation and government support declines. But nonprofits opposing this progressive reform miss the big picture. Government, not private donors, should decide how tax dollars are allocated. For too long, wealthy people have been allowed to redirect their taxpayer dollars away from serving education, health care and other pressing public needs to boosting symphonies, operas and elite institutions like Harvard, whose endowment alone exceeded $36 billion in 2008. |