“A bipartisan effort to expand tax breaks for charitable donations is gaining momentum in Congress, as nonprofit groups struggle during the pandemic,” writes Richard Rubin in Monday’s (6/15) Wall Street Journal (subscription required). “Senators … want to let taxpayers deduct charitable donations, even if they don’t itemize their deductions. Their plan would greatly increase a small tax break created in March that allowed such extra charitable deductions…. The senators … are offering their idea as a way to help nonprofits and their middle-class donors. They are pitching it for the next economic-relief legislation, set for Senate consideration next month…. A deduction of $4,000 for individuals and $8,000 for married couples would increase donors by 7 million, or 8%…. The House of Representatives didn’t include an expanded deduction in its economic-relief bill last month. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D., Mass.) is focused on direct assistance through tax credits and unemployment insurance…. Senate Finance Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) is evaluating the idea. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the panel’s top Democrat, backs the concept.”
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