CHARITABLE DEDUCTION - ACTION REQUESTED

The Senate Finance Committee is looking to reform the Nation’s Tax Code.  Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have informed each senator of their intention to pursue tax reform beginning with a “blank slate” and asking them to justify adding back in any deductions, credits, and preferences based on three criteria:  that they (1) help grow the economy, (2) make the tax code fairer, or (3) effectively promote other important policy objectives, as well as to submit any other ideas they may have regarding a tax overhaul.

One deduction that is on the table for consideration to be cut or limited is the Charitable Deduction. Eliminating the deduction may have a dramatic impact on your clinic budget, as some people may decide not to donate or donate less without this deduction.

It is critical that you take a moment and write a letter to your Senate members explaining that losing this deduction would negatively impact the work at your clinic and the work of non-profits around the country.  The NAFC has drafted a letter on this topic for you to place on your letterhead, sign and send to your elected officials.  Please note, in addition to discussing the impact of limiting/eliminating the charitable deduction will have on your clinic, it also includes language that reflects how this limitation will hurt non-profits as a whole.  Staff feels very strongly that it is critical to identify ourselves as strong members of the non-profit sector by joining our voices with others in this arena.

This issue is of CRITICAL IMPORTANCE to the non-profit community as a whole and as a large part of the safety net community, the NAFC is asking that you act RIGHT AWAY.

What Can You Do?

The fastest way to get information to your Senators is to either send an email or fax a letter to them.  The NAFC has drafted a sample email/letter on this for you to place on your letterhead, sign and send to your Member.  Click here to download a copy of the letter.  Click here to find a web form to email, along with fax number and mailing address for your Senator.

**If you would like to email or use the web form and there is not the ability to add the letter on your letterhead, please copy and paste the body of the letter into the comment box with your contact information.

When you have sent your message please update the NAFC offices via email at info@nafcclinics.org. [Source:  NAFC]

Protect America’s Strong Tradition of Giving to the Safety Net

As a clinic in the healthcare safety net, you are providing much needed access to health care services for medically underserved individuals, children and families in Colorado.  While ClinicNET’s affiliates are diverse in model, most are nonprofit organizations that do not receive federal funds and rely on charitable donations to support the critical work they do on a daily basis.

As the Administration and Congress take up tax reform, deficit reduction and the fiscal cliff, we want to urge them not to impose any limit or cap on the charitable deduction, including the proposed cap limiting all itemized deductions at 28 percent for certain taxpayers.   Many taxpayers who itemize take fixed cost deductions first -- such as state and local taxes and mortgage interest -- and a cap would leave them little to no room to deduct their charitable contributions.

The charitable deduction is different than other itemized deductions in that it encourages individuals to give away a portion of their income to those in need. It rewards a selfless act, and it encourages taxpayers to give more to charities than they would otherwise have given.   People give to worthwhile causes for many reasons—incentives such as tax deductions being among them. Tax incentives make more and larger gifts possible, and those incentives do have an impact on donors.

According to a 2012 report by the Center for Civil Society Studies at Johns Hopkins University, nonprofit employment represents 10.1 percent of total employment in the United States in 2010, with total employees numbering 10.7 million. Keeping charitable deductions at the current rate allows the middle class, as well as those who are more privileged, to participate in maintaining and creating jobs in safety net careers, which offer critical services to local communities and address urgent needs on a broader, national basis.

America’s economic recovery requires a strong philanthropic sector whose role as an investor in innovation and supporter of safety net services is more important than ever for a faster, sustainable economic recovery.   Now is the time to maintain incentives to support the crucial work of the nonprofit community.

Please take the time to contact Colorado's Congressional delegation. Click here to find out how to take action and for more information.