Originally Posted by
Steve Whitlatch
Well it really sucks that the only reason many give is for tax purposes. So much for humanity.
I think you're confused about this. Having deductible charitable contributions means that you can give more than you otherwise might have. Nobody gives only for tax purposes because you can't (unless you're a billionaire). For example, let's say I have $1000 max I can afford to give in total and I can deduct 30% of charitable contributions from my taxes. That means I can give $1300 knowing that I can lower my estimated tax payments by $300 for a net of $1000. The charity wins $300 extra dollars. Once the deduction is gone I will only be able to afford to give the $1000. The charity loses $300, plus it loses again because a lot of folks like me have an added reminder/motivation to give at the end of the year to lock in that tax deduction. No deduction, no deadline, no reminder/additional motivation. Everybody loses.