The Equity and Efficiency of Charitable Giving


 

 

The Equity and Efficiency of Charitable Giving

Heidi Jane M. Smith

 The equity and efficiency of charitable giving are valid questions when looking policy related to tax credits in the income tax.   Yet what holds deeper concern is whether government provisions of public welfare are more efficient and equitable than independent agents providing that care? Although lots of tools in the policy analysis toolbox are utilized for this argument, non- experiments of various sectors comparing impacts of governments work to independent charities would be most appropriate it is not outside the constraints of this paper.  Yet what can be looked at are the economic theories for welfare policy, analyzing public goods and it’s under provision, if let to the market. Also looking the reasons for gift giving is important.  These incentives underline why taxes deductions exist and how they can be used to be the most equitable and efficient instruments for the means of this paper is tax policy. 
Current policy questions on tax policy for charitable giving are deductions to the estate and gift tax and for non-itemize tax.  Where as the estate tax is one of the most progressive taxes, it questions vertical and horizontal equity issues.  Charitable deductions may dictate policy. Should the higher income families decide where their money should go?  Would it be more efficient for them to moderate it in a private foundation than the government regulates it?  Would they donate the money to charity if there were no incentive under the system to donate the money and avoid the tax?  Is the money spent in private foundations and nonprofits more efficient than government provisions?    Horizontal equity issues question if you don’t know the loopholes of the tax deduction for charity than you would pay more money to charity in the long run by spending it in government services.  Vertical equity also needs to look at the poor.  Is it fair to allow the higher income earners dictate policy, or decided how public provisions of charity should be given or should it be up to the public (under government welfare state) and public choice theory to decide?
Non-itemizers are generally not higher income people who may donate small sums of money to charity, yet these sums are so small regulating it creates administrative burdens.  Although allowing these people to receive a tax credit makes the system more equitable, it also makes administrative difficulties.  Therefore one needs to question if this is an efficient way to generate revenue for charity.  Money people are able to benefit from the deduction stimulating vertical equity but it cuts into efficiency of the tax.  These among other questions will be challenged in this paper.  More specifically the rest of the paper will concentrate on the equity, efficiency, administrative burden and political feasibility of these two tax instruments.

Increases in Philanthropic efforts

Giving and philanthropy is on the raise.  Cited in Giving USA, in 1998 Americans contributed $174.5 billion to non-profits organizations. This is a 10.7% increase over 1997 figures. [1] The Independent Sector, a Washington-Based association for non-profit organizations, cited there were 1.1million nonprofits in 1996 and over 10.2 people employed.[2]  Elizabeth Boris, director of the Urban Center’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, is quoted by suggesting that these numbers are optimist and excessive, charitable has remained constant at 1.8 to 2% of income by individuals donating. [3] In 1999, Microsoft chief Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda donate $16 billion to the Gates Foundation marking the largest charitable gift in American History. [4]
This is more realistic, economic booms of the economy have given more leads to charitable donations in the late 1990 and have seen down turns with the start of the economic rescission of the early 21st century.  Much of this hype is due to the inflated stock prices. Often offered by employers as an added benefit from their company, the capital gains made by investors is paid out in charitable donations in order to avoid higher taxes.  The dot.com bust of the stock market has affect many nonprofit budgets for the worse.
Non-for-profits developed two approaches for receiving increased donations.  One is a more hands-on approach to philanthropy including social entrepreneurship as a key.  This is using business practices to improve the social sector, radical splitting from previous grassroots styles of the third sector.  Yet nonprofits as businesses might backfire they should be mission driven, not bottom-line driven and full of the sprit of volunteerism.  Internet and on-line advocacy have become another method used by the nonprofit world to gain wider support.  Mechanisms of on-line donations have increase small donations and one-time supporters.  Internet has also allowed the independent sector to become more visible to the general public, which increase possible donations as well.
Within the U.S. 70.1% of American households reported to have giving to charity and an annual $1,075 average annual household contribution were reported in 1998.[5] There are a total of 1.2 million independent sector organizations including charity organizations, nonprofits and religious congregations (tax codes of 501(c) (3) and 501(c) (4)) that generated over $664.8 billion in revenue for 1997.[6]  Resources came from private contributions 19.9%; government 31.3%; dues, fees and charges 37.5%; and other revenue sources 11.4%.  The sector has employed 10.6 million people including 7.1%of total U.S. employment in 1997.  The numbers of organizations have grown from 739,000 in 1977 to over 1.19 million in 1997.  Charitable contributions in 1998 are broken down to religious organizations 60.1%; youth development 4.9%; arts, culture and humanities 3.3%; education 6.4%; environment 3.2%, health 6.5%, human services 9.0%; and other 6.4% includes international/foreign, private/community foundations, public/societal benefits, recreations-adults and other types of charity.[7]  Notable on average colleges graduate give more than people above the age of 55. People who attend religious services weekly or nearly every week give more then those who only reported to attending.[8] This indicates that there are large amounts of people who are welling to give to aid the less fortunate.
Economic research has found that man and women give to philanthropy equally but donate differently. Male donors contribute 26.7% of their net wroth to charitable causes due to the estate tax while 27.6% of women do.[9]  “Experimental evidence that men and women treat differently to variations in the cost of transferring income to others.” [10]  Women spend more on education than men.  Married couples where the women makes more than the man changes the dynamics in the decision making and so does their propensity to donate to specific sectors.
There is three majors sectors in the economy that fund charity: businesses, households and government.  Corporate philanthropy is especially subject to the question of rationality.  They may not donate out of altruism but for long run business effects like less transition costs or keeping society quite.  Rather their pursuit for profit maximization of monetary profits is much greater than the benefits they receive from the warm feelings the have for giving to the poor.  The donations of corporations can represent both an ordinary business expenditure and through the firm consumption.”[11]  Therefore business taxation is not used in this paper to describe charitable deductions because it is difficult to determine is bottom line purpose as being a true public good.

Economic arguments for Charity giving

Welfare debate=Charity?

Debates of charity come from the social responsibility of individuals to help others who are less fortunate.  Yet as a general public, we often leave the job to the church or our neighbors, shedding the burden to others. Whose responsibility is it to help the poor anyhow?
The foundations of welfare were the government’s responses to the charity, aiding the poor and hungry.  The initial idea of welfare policy in the U.S. was set to aid families hardest hit in the depression in 1935. “Welfare has changed, as we knew it” as Clinton proclaimed in his political campaign is one way the government has developed was to help the poor. The program Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1996. The use of aid to the poor is to alleviate three major market failures: charity as a public good being under produced with externalities, inequality making discrimination as a problem with barriers to entry and income distribution as a public good.
Charity is argued to be a public good with positive externalities. We want to help the poor so does our neighbor, you expect the neighbor to pay and he expects you to pay causing an under production of the resources for the poor. Net result is an under supply of the good (making positive externalities).  Both with benefit and cost- total demand is less than the social demand curve and government response to a positive externality is to subsidize through charitable donations or tax exemptions. The reasons for charity is either altruistic, to help others-do unto others as they would do for you, or selfish, giving to charity to keep the poor quiet is good for social stability and therefore good for business.  Positive externality also focus on the only important that thing to you is what the neighbor does.  If they make more and you don’t you fell worse off and this is not Pareto efficient.  Therefore the consequence is to over spend and save too live cause less economic growth and spillovers to the poor.
Inequalities cause market failures due to barriers to entry through discrimination.  This exists in government as well as in economics.  It is wrong and inefficient too!  Prices are too high and quantity is too low.  Examples include discrimination towards women, minorities, etc. in the work place.  Discrimination causes income inequality due to not allowing eligible people work also creating ridged working scales.   Also causes problems with human capital effecting the endowments of education to everyone. This ultimately creates poorer people in the need for help.
Income distribution is a public good, too much inequality cause lower economic growth.  This suggests that economic growth is jointly consumed and is not excludible.   This is a problem of public goods with positive externalities producing an under supply of economic growth.  In the United States the “level of income…is high enough so that more equal distribution on income should mitigate the poverty problem and reduce its significance.”[12]   The higher the GDP, and growth of a country the more likely they will be able to create more economic equality. Therefore helping the poor is important.
Charity as a Public Good
A problem with public goods (joint consumption/ non-excludable production) is that the demand is too low- resulting in free riders (people who use the good and do not pay for it).  The use of common means that there is a natural adjustment to make the marginal social costs met the marginal private demand.  The solution is usually government provision of the good however the optimal level of a public good is subject to debate.  Examples of inequalities as under consumption of demand show too little government involvement. Inequality causes problems with extremes become the higher incomes are not so generous and the lesser incomes to steel to get by producing social/civil unrest. An example is in the Brazilian economy 40% low –20% middle -40% high income for its distribution.  Also there are examples of over government involvement, like redistribution like Northern Europe.  People pay too much in taxes, which go to those who do not work.  This is over compensating and making a disincentive to not work.  Not correcting the disequilibria of paying too many or too few taxes.
Therefore governments have become the major actor to mitigate problems of poverty.  Yet do governments produce the most efficient method of poverty alleviation?  Optimal levels are questionable.  Some people create nonprofit organization or start their own foundations, other donate funds while some work in the public bureaucracy as public servants to work in poverty mitigation.  Charity has formed some answers. Tax credits enable increase giving, voluntarism, cost-efficiency and savings while reducing crowding out. 
Yet tax credits are not the solution to all.  Liberals argue that there is no way that private charities, even with increase donations could replicate the current role of the federal government.  Conservatives argue against foundation suggesting it would undermine in the GOP’s effort to promote the flat tax.  Also the idea of less government conservatives would promote tax exemption, where nonprofits produce results that often times government bureaucracies are inefficient. With tax credits, federal government is not the automatic subsidize the poor yet enhance competition to poverty reduction strategies.

Impure Altruism

Do people give to public goods like charity for the warm-glow of giving or do they have another modus operandi?  Are their other factors influencing their decision to give than pure altruism?   One study done by James Andreoni studied just that. He found that altruism model lack predictive power to demonstrate theoretically and that government grants would crowed out voluntary gifts dolor for dollar.[13]  Studies have shown that local gift giving is more likely than giving to large economies.  The generalization of the standard public goods model includes ‘impurely altruistic’ motives to gift giving.  Yet ‘pure altruism’ is extremely special, and predictions are not easily generalized. Therefore a mix of output of not only government giving and not only private donations is needed to help the poor.  Andrdreoni suggests, “People may not gain utility form increasing its total supply from the act of giving.  Also when total provision of a public good is independent of the distribution of income, the contributes government provision completely crowds out private provision and subsidies are neutral.”[14]  He concludes that best empirical model of charity giving account for a mix of warm-glow giving (charity-giving) and interdependence of preferences (government allocation of public goods). 
Therefore if this is true than one needs to evaluate the government mechanisms of poverty reduction.  Although lots of tools in the policy analysis toolbox are utilized for this argument, the particular instruments for the means of this paper is tax policy.  Taxes are means in which government generates revenue for its programs, but if you are not satisfied with the amount of programs that the government provides that is outside the limits of this paper.  Current policy questions on tax policy for charitable giving are the Estate and Gift tax and the charitable contributions Deduction for Non-Itemizers. The rest of the paper will discuss the equity, efficiency, administrative burden and political feasibility of each of these taxes.
Current policy questions for taxes

Charitable giving and the Estate Tax

In 2000 Governor George W. Bush, the Republican presidential candidate promised to “expand the charitable deduction, allowing taxpayers who do not itemize their returns to deduct contributions” and to end the “death tax” in his tax cut plan.  Estate and gift tax reform has received recent legislative appeal.  The 105th congress suggested increasing its base to $1 million and would be phased out by 2006.  In the 106th Congress, The Death Tax Elimination act of 2000 would gradually eliminate the tax by 2010 but was vetoed by President Clinton. Yet with George Bush’s support the Estate and Gift tax is important to review because its affects to charity.[15]
The Estate and gift tax has problematic appeals to both liberals and conservatives.[16]  Liberals suggest that the reform of the Estate tax will only aid the wealthy.  Suggesting the appeal will remove the most progressive element of the tax system. It will cost the Treasury $50 billion within decades (estate taxes comprise of about 1.4% of all federal revenue and its mean diminished financial support for churches, synagogues, universities and other tax-exempt institutions.  Republicans argue that the claim that the estate tax will aid farmers and small business the back bone of America, calling these levies the death tax that effect everyone.
Under current legislation, people must file a federal estate tax return within nine mouths of a family members death if the gross estate is over $675,000.  Plus the tax include any gifs to decedent’s gross assets and any gifts made exceed $10,000 per year per person receiving a donation.  The tax rate begins at 37 percent and rises to 55 percent for transfers above $3 million dollars.
Popular cases against the Estate tax vary. Gale and Slemrod suggest the following excuses in a policy paper done for a Brookings Institute conference on the subject: Taxing at death is immoral; the estate tax stifles saving, labor supply and economic growth; the estate tax hurts family owned business and farms; the estate tax discriminates unfairly against savers; the estate tax is easily to avoids and creates huge compliance cost; the estate tax doesn’t raise much revenue.[17]  Also cases in favor they suggest the following: the tax is progressive; transfer taxes serve as a backstop to the income tax, transfer taxes reduce the concentration of wealth, transfer taxes help the nonprofit sector.  Although a full discussion of the estate tax is unnecessary for this paper, a few details are important to discuss due to the close relationship to charitable giving.
Data suggests that 1.9% estates have taxable income.  In 1997, 2,400 estates paid nearly one half average break of $3.4million.  With a current $1.35milion credit a couple (slated to raise to $2 million) the majority of middle- and upper- middle- income Americans pay no estate taxes.  Family farms and small business account for few than 5% of all taxable estate tax, one in 25 family pay any estate tax at all.  Joel Slemrod, tax specialist at the University of Michigan, stated, “Some business and families are the tails that wag the dog,” suggesting this is such a small percentage of who actually pay the tax.
So whom is the estate tax affecting; people who are in the top 25% income bracket?   “Anyone looking at the past 15 years would be hard pressed to day entrepreneurial capitalist being straggled by the estate tax,” notes Gale, top economist at the Brookings Institute.  Looking a bit deeper one would find the elimination of the estate tax would discourage charitable giving. No one pays any estate tax on what they give to charity, so may people giver more to charity to avoid the tax.  One policy paper is quoted that researchers at Boston College found people with estates of less than $625,000 leave 5%to charity.[18]   Another stated in “1997, of 329 taxable estates with gross assets above $20 million, 182 made charitable contributions, and those that did contribute an average of over $41 million.”[19]  The favorable deduction to the tax on charity helps raise funds for the nonprofit sector. The repeal of the legislation would raise incomes of the richest family and would decrease charitable contributions (noting they would have no incentive to give.)
Policy experts suggest not eliminating the tax, as Bush campaigned on in the fall of 2000, but rather adjust the tax to become more equitable and reliable.[20]   Reforms include rising exemptions (to farmers and small business-so they don’t have to pay the tax), closing loopholes (yet this would lead to less charitable deductions, but it would make a less administrative burden for tax officials), reducing rates (but you would need to broadened the base in order to maintain the same amount of revenues received each fiscal year) and lastly index inflations to include issues of yield on the tax.[21]
Yet with such proposals, the tax system becomes more complicating breeding different rules for different levels of income (causing administrative difficulties). The key is to make few distinctions across economic activities and personal characteristics.  Taxes should be imposed on a broad income base at lower rates to the lower income earners and higher to the other end of the system.  This may eliminate the progressively of the tax.
If the rates were lowered then the base needs to be broadened.  This would create a “fairer, more politically palatable tax, at a much lower cost,” stated Rep. Charles Rangel (Dem- New York).  The $40 billion a year saved from avoiding repeals (this includes charitable donations/deductions) could go to planed government spending.  Top rates should be lowered to below 50% on large estates and add credits to include charitable donations.
The extraordinary high tax rate (between 37 to 55%) causes high amounts of avoidance of the tax.  Yet the avoidance often attributes to those families who use sophisticated tax planning. This may eliminate their propensity to save, but it does increase charitable donations.  Closing loopholes will aid to the administration of the tax but it must not interfere with the amount of charitable deductions given.
David Joulfaian, and economist at the Treasury Department have qualified these assumptions. “The reduction in the estate tax would cause charity to decrease giving.  Without the incentive of the tax, Joulfaian found that the people with large estates would give 12 percent less to charity.  That alone adds ups to over a billion dollars a year.”[22]
Do higher income earners have the right to see where their money is being spent? Wouldn’t charitable deductions do just that, allow for individuals to be accountable to the government while watching their pennies. Doesn’t the Estates and giving tax with its loophole to allow charitable deductions give incentives to help others?  Another policy question is the efficiency of government to aid the poor over nonprofit organizations.

Charitable contributions Deduction for Non-Itemizers

As noted above in who donates to charities, within the U.S. 70.1% of American households reported to have giving to charity and an annual $1,075 average annual household contribution were reported for 1998.[23] These numbers come from only those households who were able to deduct their giving with itemized deductions, notable the higher incomes are most included to itemize.  This inflates mean incomes contribution suggesting the quantity donated come from fewer households at higher incomes.  Federal law from 1982 to 1986 allowed all taxpayers deductions to charity regardless of itemizing or not.  This creates an incentive for more people to donate funds to charity increasing the quantity supplied and improving the static of man average household’s donations.
Current law states that only individual taxpayers who itemize their deductions may claim deduction for charitable contributions meet qualified charitable organizations.[24]  This amount may not exceed 50%of the taxpayers adjusted gross income.  The reason for change is that there is no tax incentive to increase charitable contributions for people who do not itemize their tax returns.  The current proposal will provide more incentive for deductions for itemizers as well as non-itemizers.  It will allow non-itemizers to deduct 50% of their charitable contributions in excess of $500 for individuals and $1,000 for joint married filers.
Known as the CARE Act of 2002, the bill will allow 86 million taxpayers to deduct up to $400 for individual filers for charitable deductions and $800 for joint files. Nonprofit organizations are in favor of this legislation because it allows for a greater dispersion of government incentives to donate to charity.  This can only increase quantity supplied adding to annual budgets of these organizations. Yet are these deductions efficient, equitable, or administratively feasible?  Jane G. Gravelle, Senior Specialist in Economic Policy Government and Finance, has written a comprehensive report to Congress on Charitable contribution deductions for non-itemizers that will be used for argument in this paper. [25]
Efficiency is recognized in the arguments above explained that charity is a public good and it is under produced explained by economic theory.  Therefore mandating tax deductions will increase the supply.  Yet questionably so, one asks whether charitable deductions (giving public monies to private organizations to do charitable deeds) is more effect than government policy its self.  Yes it does eliminate free rider problems but it also questions the role of government in welfare and poverty reduction.  Also the use of charitable deductions questions the really use of benefits of the charity.  Where do the benefits go?  Donors take advantage of the monies invested receiving items for their favorite charity, allowing families-members to enter private universities, benefiting from the church they attend.  Also leakages of the funds do exist, not all money not taxes go to the needy but also to administrate the nonprofit organization.  This in effect replicates government spending on its own infrastructure. 
Price elasticity also influences efficiency arguments.  Does each dollar spent it stimulate another dollar in the private sector to charity or is the private charitable tax exemption less efficient than the direct spending of the government?  Gravelle suggests:
“As a rule of thumb, without considering other factors (such as the whether the contribution go to that charitable purpose ant the effects of caps), a dollar of revenue cost will result in more than a dollar of giving if the price elasticity is above one in absolute values. “
There are various income and substitution effects related to the price-elasticity of a goods demanded.  If elasticity is greater than one, demand is elastic, making the demand for an item very responsive to price changes. If prices go up than there will be less quantity demanded.  If an item’s elasticity is less than one, the demand is inelastic- not very responsive to the price change per quantity demanded.  Higher income individuals choose to donate to charity when they have temporary high increases in income, creating high elasticity of 1.3 or higher or .5 when correcting for time effects.[26]  These rates justify the high donations given with the estate tax.  But studies for non-itemizer contributions suggest elasticity to be below one in absolute values. This study, while not justifying for transition effects, found effects in elasiticities for 1985 to 1986 of 1 to 1.24 for itemizers, and .8 to .6 for non-itemizers.  These non-itemized dedicators face higher elasticities, when income is higher.  They will be more in favor of donating, but will save their pennies when their money is less fluid at higher rates than the itemized dedicators.
With itemized and non-itemized deductions, policies can cap (make atop to how much you can deduct) or a floor (the little you can deduct) changing the outcomes of the percent donated.  Caps on donations increase nominal values, but they also decline in value treated to income.  “A capped deduction is less costly than an uncapped deduction but also less efficient.  It is possible to increase the efficiency level by the use of a floor.”[27] Floors benefit as with higher incomes and ceilings benefit with lower incomes.   Therefore a mixture of both will create an optimal solution.
Equity issues for non-itemizers are not a primary issue, but they do allow benefits for lower and moderate-income classes to receive tax cuts for deductions.  This will add to the benefits received to charity organizations.  This will also make more equity to those who don’t item (who are primarily higher income earners).  This allows more people to benefit form the tax deduction.
The administrative burden of non-itemizers adds complexity and limits simplicity to tax forms.  Time given to organize paper references to provide proof of charity giving increases inefficiencies of the tax break.   The lack of correct record keeping for small sums like charitable contributions may induce tax evasion.  Therefore safe reporting policies need to be developed which is very administratively burdensome.
Policy options for non-itemizer deduction may include eliminating (or increasing) caps while proving only partial deductions (like allowed in during the 1981-5 tax policy period).  Also floor based on income would be most effective, but difficult to compute, therefore adds high administrative burden. Lastly, Gravelle suggests,  ”to use revenue hat would have been directly at the tax cut to fund spending programs aimed at the same objective, either through a direct government program or a grant that might be administered by a private entity.”  This suggestion directs at the main subject of this paper, of weather or not the private deductions in taxes allowing for more charitable giving actually helps the poor better then government programs aimed at the poor.

Conclusions

This paper has tried to argue that the mix of output of government provision or independent sector of poverty reduction is the best forms for dealing with the underproduction of charity.  We have looked at the economic theories for welfare policy, analyzing public goods and it’s under provision, if let up to the market. Tax policy provides incentives to give called deductions.  Whether the deductions are for charitable giving to the estate and gift tax or for non-itemize tax returns, both are important.  The optimal levels need to be found.   
Although the estate tax is one of the most progressive taxes it also questions equity.   Weather the more wealth should decided policy, by directing their monies to specific sectors or areas, or should they subject their tax dollars to the welfare system that is manage by the government. Who runs their system more efficiently;, the independent sector or the government? Who should dictate policy, the voices of democracy or the higher income earners?
Non-itemizers are generally not higher income people who may donate small sums of money to charity.  These sums do add up and create large amounts for non-profits to run on.  The problem comes in regulating the funds, which create large administrative burdens. Therefore one needs to question if this is an efficient way to generate revenue for charity.  Money people are able to benefit from the deduction stimulating vertical equity but it cuts into efficiency of the tax.  Yet does government provision of welfare do just what the tax deduction would do, aid the poor, but more efficiently?

Bibliography

Audreoni, James, Impure Altruism and Dominations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving, The Economic Journal, 100 (June1990), 464-477.

Auten, Gerald and David Joulfaian, Charitable Contributions and Intergenerational Transfers, Office of Tax Analysis Paper 72, U.S. Treasury Department, February 1996. Also published in the Journal of Public Economics (1996) 55-68.

*Barwick, Peter S., et. all. Charity Tax Credits--And Debits: As welfare wanes, conservatives clash over whether government should subsidize private giving, Policy Review No. 87, Heritage Foundation, January-February, 1998

Brown, Eleanor, Department of Economics, Pomona College, and Al Slivinski, Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario, Wallis Institute of Political Economy, University of Rochester, Household Decisions Regarding Charitable Gifts DRAFT: Preliminary results, June 2000, Claremont Colleges working papers in economics.

*Cohn, Edward, The Estate Tax and Charity, policy paper for the Common wealth Nonprofits, Philanthropy and Civil Society (www.epn.org) April 6, 2002

Cordes, Joseph, John O'Hare, and Eugene Steuerle, Extending the Charitable Deduction to Nonitemizers: Policy Issues and Options, The Urban Institute, May 2000.  This paper examines the incentive effects of several different permutations of the nonitemizer charitable deduction.

Department of the Treasury, General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2001 Revenue Proposals, February 2000.

Fisher, Ronald. C., State and Local Public Finance, Second Edition (Chicago, IL: Irwin, 1996.)

Gale, William and Joel Slemrod, Resurrecting the Estate Tax, Policy Brief #62-June 200 Brookings Institute

Gale, William G. and Joel Slemrod, Rethinking the Estate and Gift Tax, Conference Report #5-March 2001 Brookings Institute

Goolsbee, Austan, University of Chicago and American Bar Foundation, What Happens When you Tax the Rich? Evidence from Executive Compensation, Journal of Political Economy, 2000, Vol.108. No. 2.

Gravelle, Jane G. CRS Report for Congress: Economic Analysis of the Charitable Contribution Deduction for Non-Itemizers, August 31,2001.

Gravelle, Jane G. and Steven Maguire, RL 30600: Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues CRS Report for Congress, December 12,2000.

Havens, John, J. and Paul G. Schervish, “Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy,” Boston College Social Welfare Research Institute, Report Released Oct. 19,1999.

Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac In Brief: Facts and Figures from the Forthcoming New Profit Almanac and Desk  Reference and Giving and Volunteering in the United States,1999, books from the Independent Sector 2001.

*Independent Sector, Public Policy Update, Newsletter on Federal and State issues affecting Philanthropy and Nonprofits (www.independentSector.org) February 2002

Internal Revenue Service, IRS Publication 1771-Charitable Contributions: Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements, (Rev 3-2002) Catalog Number 20054Q, www.irs.gov

*Melendes, Sara E. and John R. Seffrin, Independent Sector CEO and Chairperson, “An Open letter to the Nonprofit Community: Why nonprofits should support Nonitemizer Charitable Deductions,” (www.independentSector.org) April 4, 2002

*Office of Tax Policy Research collection of Editorial Opinions on campaign-related issues:

  • USA Today Editorial, “Debate: Tax Cuts,” posted 8/5/00

  • Albert R. Hunt, “Reform the Estate Tax, Don’t’ Real It,” Archived Article 6/8/00 printed in Wall Street Journal, June 8, 2000

  • William Gale, Make it less complicated to Pay Taxes,” Archived Article 2/21/00 printed in The Los Angeles Times February 21, 2000

Randolph, William C., Dynamic Income, Progressive Taxes and the Timing of Charitable Contributions, Office of Tax Analysis Paper 69, U.S. Treasury Department, August 1994.

Schwartz, R.A., Corporate Philanthropic Contributions, The Journal of Finance 479-497.

Salamon, Lester M., The International Guide to Nonprofit Law. New York: John Wiley and Sons. 1997

Sharpe et.al.  Economics of Social Issues 15th Edition. p. 148.

Slemrod, Joel (ed.), Tax Policy in the Real World. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1999

*Speakout.com produces weekly policy papers published at policy.com the following articles were extracted April 4, 2002:
  • Bob Kolasky, “Issue of the Week: Give a Little Bit, September 2,1999
  • Bob Kolasky, Issue of the Week: Who should help the Poor? November 28, 1996
  • Elias Crim, Smart Talk: Brother, Can you spare a Tax-Free Donation? September 11, 1997
  • Walters, John P., Opening the Floodgates, September 2,1999

Tehan, Rita, Information Research Special Congressional Reference Division, Grants and Foundations: Selected Print, Electronic, and Internet Sources on Government and Private Funding, January 6,1999, CRS Report for Congress

*Walker, Robert, Lessons in Leadership: Make Your Voice Part of the Debate on Public Policy and Charitable giving, The Management Center (www.tmcenter.org) April 6, 2002.


* Indicate these are not academic works but policy papers or opinion columns that I have used shaped my arguments in this paper


[1] Walters, John P., Opening the Floodgates, September 2,1999
[2] Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac In Brief: Facts and Figures from the Forthcoming New Profit Almanac and Desk  Reference and Giving and Volunteering in the United States,1999, books from the Independent Sector 2001.
[3] Bob Kolasky, “Issue of the Week: Give a Little Bit, September 2,1999
[4] Walters, John P., Opening the Floodgates, September 2,1999
[5] Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac In Brief: Facts and Figures from the Forthcoming books from the Independent Sector 2001
[6] Ibid, pg 5
[7] ibid,pg 11
[8] ibid pg13
[9] Brown, Eleanor, Department of Economics, Pomona College, and Al Slivinski, Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario, Wallis Institute of Political Economy, University of Rochester, Household Decisions Regarding Charitable Gifts DRAFT: Preliminary results, June 2000, Claremont Colleges working papers in economics.
[10] ibid
[11] Schwartz, R.A., Corporate Philanthropic Contributions, The Journal of Finance 480
[12] Sharpe et.al.  Economics of Social Issues 15th Edition. p. 148.
[13] Audreoni, James, Impure Altruism and Dominations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving, The Economic Journal, 100 (June1990), pg 464.
[14] Audreoni, James, Impure Altruism and Dominations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving, The Economic Journal, 100 (June1990), 473.
[15] Gravelle, Jane G. and Steven Maguire, RL 30600: Estate and Gift Taxes: Economic Issues CRS Report for Congress, December 12, 2000.
[16] USA Today Editorial, “Debate: Tax Cuts,” posted 8/5/00
[17] Gale, William and Joel Slemrod, Resurrecting the Estate Tax, Policy Brief #62-June 200 Brookings Institute
[18] Havens, John, J. and Paul G. Schervish, “Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy,” Boston College Social Welfare Research Institute, Report Released Oct. 19,1999.
[19] Gale, William and Joel Slemrod, Resurrecting the Estate Tax, Policy Brief #62-June 200 Brookings Institute, pg 5 of 7
[20] USA Today Editorial, “Debate: Tax Cuts,” posted 8/5/00
[21] Gale, William G. and Joel Slemrod, Rethinking the Estate and Gift Tax, Conference Report #5-March 2001 Brookings Institute
[22] Cohn, Edward, The Estate Tax and Charity, policy paper for the Common wealth Nonprofits, Philanthropy and  Civil Society (www.epn.org) April 6, 2002
[23] Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac In Brief: Facts and Figures from the Forthcoming books from the Independent Sector 2001
[24] Department of the Treasury, General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2001 Revenue Proposals, February 2000
[25] Gravelle, Jane G. CRS Report for Congress: Economic Analysis of the Charitable Contribution Deduction for Non-Itemizers, August 31,2001.
[26] Gravelle, Jane G. CRS Report for Congress: Economic Analysis of the Charitable Contribution Deduction for Non-Itemizers, pg 5.
[27] Gravelle, Jane G. CRS Report for Congress: Economic Analysis of the Charitable Contribution Deduction for Non-Itemizers, pg 12.



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