The Tax Treatment of Charities & Major Budget Reform

Eugene Steuerle testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on "Tax Reform Options: Incentives for Charitable Giving," presenting options on how to increase tax revenues with minimal impact or perhaps even an increase in charitable giving. Among other recommendations, he suggests a floor under charitable giving, improved compliance measures, greater restrictions on non-cash gifts, a better system of information reporting, allowing taxpayers to immediately deduct contributions they make while filing their tax returns, extending the deduction to taxpayers who don't itemize, raising the ceiling on allowed charitable giving for some types of gifts, and reforming the foundation excise tax.