Charitable Giving and Taxes Benefits, Changes and Proposals

Prior to the financial crisis and subsequent recession, the value of tax benefits for charitable contributions and organizations was estimated to be around $100 billion per year. About half of this cost arose from the deductions for charitable contributions with the other half from exemptions of earnings of non-profits. In 2010, the deduction for charitable contributions results in an estimated $40 billion in federal revenue losses. On average, endowment investments in 2009 experienced losses, meaning that the federal government did not lose revenues from exempting asset returns from taxation. This book provides an overview of recent changes affecting tax-exempt and charitable organizations, while also discussing issues that may be of legislative interest in the future.