Actually, the article specifically refers to the gift buy-back tax shelter which was prevalent before the 1986 tax code. In the most common form of the gift bu

Actually, the article specifically refers to the gift buy-back tax shelter which was prevalent before the 1986 tax code. In the most common form of the gift buy-back, a donor would gift restricted stock or ownership interests to a charity. Eventually, the donor would buy back those shares/interest from the charity for the same amount as the shares were worth when donated, or less, depending on how the restrictions affected the market value of those shares. The tax benefit to the donor was usually getting a charitable write-off on the donation without actually giving up their interest in the company. The 1986 tax code basically killed this tax shelter, though its descendants live on in a form roughly similar to the Bose gift.