Nonprofits Call on Next President to Protect Charitable Deduction

A coalition of foundations and public charities is warning presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that any proposal to limit tax incentives on charitable donations would have a “devastating” effect on nonprofits and society in general.

“As charities struggle to raise additional funds to meet increased demands for their services, we ought to encourage Americans to be more generous, not send a signal that giving is less important,” the Charitable Giving Coalition, a group of more than 60 nonprofits, wrote in letters Wednesday to the two nominees. The letters came as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump readied to face off in the third and final debate of the 2016 general election.

Efforts to overhaul the tax code in recent years have gone nowhere on Capitol Hill. But many policy experts predict that the next administration and incoming Congress will attempt major revisions.

Earlier this year, the coalition praised Ms. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, for exempting charitable gifts from her proposal to limit the value of itemized deductions to 28 percent. The coalition praised Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, for keeping the deduction intact but criticized his proposal to expand the “Pease limitation” which reduces itemized tax deductions for high-income Americans. Some tax experts argue that expanding the Pease limitation would have a minimal impact on charitable giving. According to the coalition, if the charitable deduction were eliminated entirely, 131,000 people would lose their jobs, and if a 28 percent cap were placed on charitable deductions, charities would stand to lose $9.4 billion.

The group went further than it has in previous efforts, when it has demanded the charitable tax deduction be preserved.

In the letter, the groups proposed that all taxpayers, not just those who itemize their deductions, should be able to subtract charitable donations. Currently only about 30 percent of taxpayers — mostly those in higher income brackets — itemize their deductions.

Allowing people to claim a tax break for charitable gifts even if they don’t itemize their deductions would result in a $70 billion loss to the U.S. Treasury, according to a 2013 study by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.