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Yesterday, it was announced that an astounding 1 in 6 Americans are living in poverty. President Obama's response? To demand a tax on donations to soup kitchens and other charities that help people desperately in need. The President's proposal will impact approximately 40% of all the tax deductible contributions, and essentially penalize soup kitchens, hospitals, and churches that provide essential services to those who need them most. It’s no wonder this tax hike has been rejected on both sides of the aisle.
The jobs bill includes "President Obama's tax on soup kitchens"
"Limiting the tax savings on charitable contributions will reduce the amount that affected taxpayers give," Williams said. "Some of what those folks give goes to soup kitchens. Affected soup kitchens will have less money to feed their clients, who will therefore be worse off."...
Statistics for the 2006 tax year showed that only 2.9 percent of filers reported adjusted gross incomes of at least $200,000. (Some joint households in this group do not earn enough to be affected by Obama’s proposal, but it’s the closest approximation in the data that we could get.) Yet despite the small size of this group, their itemized charitable donations accounted for 38.4 percent of all the itemized charitable donations made in the U.S. that year, by taxpayers from all income levels. So a tax hit to this group would likely hurt charitable giving more severely than a similarly structured tax hike on lower-income taxpayers.
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Brad Dayspring, a Cantor spokesman, said the point of the post was that "eliminating a tax deduction for those who give to charities creates a new tax disincentive for that action, one that has otherwise not existed for a long-standing period of time. Bipartisan Members of Congress agree that this will have a negative effect on charities. … Soup kitchens are one such category of charities. … Ergo, President Obama introduced a new and negative tax treatment for soup kitchens (among others) this week. That is a fact."
"This section would limit the value of all itemized deductions and certain other tax expenditures for high-income taxpayers by limiting the tax value of otherwise allowable deductions and exclusions to 28 percent. No taxpayer with adjusted gross income under $250,000 for married couples filing jointly (or $200,000 for single taxpayers) would be subject to this limitation. The limitation would affect itemized deductions and certain other tax expenditures that would otherwise reduce taxable income in the 36 or 39.6 percent tax brackets. A similar limitation also would apply under the alternative minimum tax. This section would be effective for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2013."
In other words, this provision would generate income by limiting how much certain high-income taxpayers can deduct for charitable or other reasons.
“Limiting the itemized deduction would certainly lead to a significant decrease in charitable contributions. If charities have less resources, they’ll be forced to choose between laying off employees or cutting needed services,” William C. Daroff, vice president for Public Policy at the Jewish Federations of North America told the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Cutting philanthropy to fund the jobs program may, in fact, reduce overall jobs and services for the needy, some say.
The program is “exactly the wrong direction to go in,” Sandra Swirski, executive director of the Alliance for Charitable Reform told the Chronicle.....
What’s more, this idea was floated in 2009 and quickly rejected — in part because of fierce lobbying from non-profits.
Yet funding a jobs program by reducing charitable gifts does seem to be a strange way to improve the economy.
But the ideas, which include limiting tax deductions to charitable contributions and increasing taxes on hedge funds and private equity groups, have not fared well in Congress, prompting opposition from key Democrats.....
"In the case of the charitable deduction, one has to keep in mind that the recipients of the contributions include universities, hospitals, churches and soup kitchens that provide critical services to working families," Levin said.
In other words, this provision would generate income by limiting how much certain high-income taxpayers can deduct for charitable or other reasons.
Politifact called it mostly false (the alligation)..basically it is hammering the rich trying to duck out of paying taxes.
So, yes...perhaps there is a "dark side" winning...and they win by spinning facts to make you stand up for the richest...congrats on being duped into a Cantor lie.