3 ms·
“rules are different for you because you have a lot of money” is a concept we can’t get rid of. Trying to make it irrelevant is exactly why people throw money a
by makeitdouble 4y ago
“rules are different for you because you have a lot of money” is a concept we can’t get rid of. Trying to make it irrelevant is exactly why people throw money at ethical issues and socially disruptive behaviors, and get away with it unscathed.
When street parking laws have nothing to do with wether you’re rich or not, that becomes an issue. Charitable contributions having nothing to do with it is (to me) an issue.
TBH I’m atheist, so my sympathy for churgoer tax breaks is limited, but I’d argue donation to orgs that benefit yourself shouldn’t be tax free in general. To take a silly example: if my street looked like a garbage slum and I made a non profit to make it look gorgeous, while there might be wider communal impacts, it’s something I and the street residents should have been doing anyway, and with no tax break involved.
- twodave 4y agoAs a Christian, I feel the same way about tithing (I'd do it whether there was a tax break or not). As a pragmatist, I'll take whatever tax break I can get. I do think it becomes difficult to draw a line. What I mean is, one reason why one might donate to a charity like Ronald McDonald House (as a very prominent example of a thing I've personally been on both ends of) is because when you're the one in need you want it to be there for you. At some point this conversation comes down to assuming the worst motives in people, and I don't think you can write policy from that.