3 ms·

In theory the tax write-off makes sense: instead of the government serving as a middleman for charities and making political decisions on who-gets-what, it allo

In theory the tax write-off makes sense: instead of the government serving as a middleman for charities and making political decisions on who-gets-what, it allows the citizens to more freely support the charities they like directly. Sadly, in its present form, most people in the US seem to be too exhausted and cash-poor to donate larger amounts more frequently (even before COVID), slowly increasing the reliance on larger endowments based on the whims of fewer and fewer people/organizations. People with lower incomes also probably don’t pay enough in taxes to really reap the benefits of the write-off since it’s only a deduction.

BurningFrog 5y ago
My impression is that poor people donate a lot through their churches, which do tons of important social work, but we HN people have zero contact with those layers of society.
nradov 5y ago
Charitable donations increased 5% from 2018 to 2019 (before COVID). We don't have the data on 2020 yet. https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/ https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-g...
jogjayr 5y ago
It's only a deduction you can take if you itemize your deductions. This rules out nearly all renters.
kaybe 5y ago
> instead of the government serving as a middleman for charities and making political decisions on who-gets-what, it allows the citizens to more freely support the charities they like directly. In this case it would make sense to make the donations mandatory and income-dependent. Let people choose which cause to support but don't let them choose not to support anything. I happily pay income tax for the state to support those around me who need it, which ideally should cover the need for donations fully, but see your point. Still, nobody should be dependent on only the good-will of other luckier people to this extent, when the system and people's background influence economical success this much.

BurningFrog 5y ago

My impression is that poor people donate a lot through their churches, which do tons of important social work, but we HN people have zero contact with those layers of society.

nradov 5y ago

Charitable donations increased 5% from 2018 to 2019 (before COVID). We don't have the data on 2020 yet. https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/ https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-g...

jogjayr 5y ago

It's only a deduction you can take if you itemize your deductions. This rules out nearly all renters.

kaybe 5y ago

> instead of the government serving as a middleman for charities and making political decisions on who-gets-what, it allows the citizens to more freely support the charities they like directly. In this case it would make sense to make the donations mandatory and income-dependent. Let people choose which cause to support but don't let them choose not to support anything. I happily pay income tax for the state to support those around me who need it, which ideally should cover the need for donations fully, but see your point. Still, nobody should be dependent on only the good-will of other luckier people to this extent, when the system and people's background influence economical success this much.