The Association of Fundraising Professionals is supporting the bipartisan Charity Aid, Recovery and Empowerment Act of 2002.
Several provisions of the congressional bill, known as the CARE Act, would help increase charitable giving, according to Alexandria, VA-based AFP.
Some of these provisions would:
• Provide an enhanced deduction for donations of food and books to charities.
• Allow IRA holders to make charitable contributions from their accounts.
• Reduce the excise tax on foundations from 2 percent to 1 percent.
• Raise the contribution cap for certain corporations and expand incentives for others.
• Create a charitable tax deduction of $400 for individual taxpayers and $800 for couples who do not itemize on their tax returns.
• Modify the unrelated business income tax for charitable remainder trusts.
The bill was introduced by Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-CT, and Rick Santorum, R-PA, and is supported by President Bush.
