4 ms·

I tend to be skeptical of grants that don’t fork cash up front. A lot of “pledged” or “committed” grants, giveaways are often tax dodges. I may be wrong, I’m no

I tend to be skeptical of grants that don’t fork cash up front. A lot of “pledged” or “committed” grants, giveaways are often tax dodges. I may be wrong, I’m not a tax expert, but it seems that tax deductions on pledges are accounted for immediately while the cash flow out is actually delayed. If my understanding is correct, it would make sense to pledge as much as one can in an “up” year.

HWR_14 4y ago
> it seems that tax deductions on pledges are accounted for immediately while the cash flow out is actually delayed I have no idea where you would get that idea. There have been some interesting arrangements for sure, but there is no way to get a tax deduction for a pledge that hasn't been given.
- mrcode007 4y ago
  I got the idea by learning about donor advised funds https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/business/donor-advised-funds-tech-tax.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/business/donor-advised-fu...
  - HWR_14 4y ago
    He gave the money to a charity he controls. That's different from keeping the money until later. He can do a lot of things with it, but not buy a house. It's not his money anymore.
    - mrcode007 4y ago
      I understand you can’t buy a house. You could for example donate to build a building at a college and get your kid into college instead ;) Some donors give with tax benefits in mind and dual intent giving , while some give just to give. In general, you can always ask yourself if a person giving is increasing their net asset value while giving or declining asset value while giving. The mathematics are fairly elementary even when you account for compounding rates
      - HWR_14 4y ago
        Yes, and you can get benefits from donating. But you said they got tax benefits from promising to donate. They do not. They get tax benefits from donating to a non-profit they control (which I agree isn't good), but the donation happened! It's not their money.

HWR_14 4y ago

> it seems that tax deductions on pledges are accounted for immediately while the cash flow out is actually delayed I have no idea where you would get that idea. There have been some interesting arrangements for sure, but there is no way to get a tax deduction for a pledge that hasn't been given.

mrcode007 4y ago
I got the idea by learning about donor advised funds https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/business/donor-advised-funds-tech-tax.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/03/business/donor-advised-fu...
- HWR_14 4y ago
  He gave the money to a charity he controls. That's different from keeping the money until later. He can do a lot of things with it, but not buy a house. It's not his money anymore.
  - mrcode007 4y ago
    I understand you can’t buy a house. You could for example donate to build a building at a college and get your kid into college instead ;) Some donors give with tax benefits in mind and dual intent giving , while some give just to give. In general, you can always ask yourself if a person giving is increasing their net asset value while giving or declining asset value while giving. The mathematics are fairly elementary even when you account for compounding rates
    - HWR_14 4y ago
      Yes, and you can get benefits from donating. But you said they got tax benefits from promising to donate. They do not. They get tax benefits from donating to a non-profit they control (which I agree isn't good), but the donation happened! It's not their money.