In Friday’s (9/23) Wall Street Journal, Erica Orden writes, “Nonprofits across the state are campaigning against a provision in President Barack Obama’s jobs bill that would limit itemized deductions, including charitable contributions, for individuals with an annual income of $200,000 or more. … In a letter delivered Thursday to congressional leaders, the United Way Worldwide urged officials ‘to consider the negative ramifications of tax policy changes on those at the bottom of the economic spectrum.’ … The Performing Arts Alliance, a coalition of cultural groups, also is mobilizing its membership to lobby Congress on the same points, according to Jesse Rosen, vice chairman of the alliance and the president and chief executive of the League of American Orchestras. An umbrella group for nonprofits, the Independent Sector, has estimated that the cap could starve charities of as much as $7 billion annually in contributions, a figure that has triggered concern among nonprofits already desperate for resources. ‘The arts infrastructure in the U.S. is built on this idea of charitable deduction, especially given that the federal contribution to the arts is negligible,’ said George Steel, general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera.” A subscription is required to read the full article online.
Posted September 23, 2011
