Bush Proposes Increased Tax Deductions for Faith-Based Giving
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan. 31, 01 (CWNews.com) - President George
W. Bush on Tuesday proposed increasing tax deductions for
gifts to religious groups as part of his plan to increase
the role of faith-based organizations in providing social
services.
Bush, visiting an inner-city Washington school, outlined
his proposal for making sure religious groups have equal
access to federal programs as they work with social
problems like alcoholism, homelessness, poverty, and drug
abuse. "There are so many people in need," Bush said. "The
good news about America is there are so many willing to
serve. It's the great strength of our nation."
Bush proposed extending to all taxpayers the federal
charitable tax deduction, which allows people who itemize
on their taxes to deduct money given to charity from their
taxable income. His plan would allow the 80 million people
who take the standard deduction, and do not itemize, to
deduct for their donations to charity. Bush believes that
may boost charitable giving by billions of dollars.
He also proposed raising the cap on corporate charitable
deductions. Corporations would be permitted charitable
donations until their value exceeds 15 percent of the
company's taxable income, instead of the 10 percent under
current law. He would also create a "compassion capital
fund," that would match private giving with federal dollars
to pay for increased technical assistance to help small
community and faith-based charities increase their
capacity, and provide start-up capital to help smaller
groups expand.
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February 1, 2001
volume 12, no. 32
USA News
www.DailyCatholic.org
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