Thune urges colleagues to protect giving tax deduction

Published/Last Modified on Friday, Nov 13, 2009 - 06:05:35 am CST

Capital Journal staff

WASHINGTON.— Sen. John Thune today led 30 of his colleagues in sending a letter to all members of the U.S. Senate urging them to oppose any amendments to the health care reform bill that would limit the existing tax deduction for charitable donations. Earlier this year, the Senate passed Senator Thune’s amendment to a budget bill that would have preserved the charitable deduction in full, but it was removed from the final budget measure during conference negotiations with the House of Representatives.

“The American tradition of charitable giving is particularly important in difficult economic times,” said Thune. “People do not give to charity because it results in a tax break, but reducing the deduction would likely lead to a reduction in giving nationwide. With many families struggling today, such a limitation would come at a very bad time.”

The independent Giving USA Foundation recently reported that the decline in total charitable giving in 2008 was the greatest drop the group has ever observed since it began tracking charitable donations in the U.S. in 1956. Senator Thune’s letter emphasizes that a reduction in the charitable giving tax deduction would likely decrease charitable giving further.

“A reduction in charitable giving would have a particularly harmful impact on not-for-profit hospitals and other charity health care organizations. A limitation of the charitable tax donation has no place in any health care reform proposal,” Thune said.

President Obama proposed reducing the charitable tax deduction as part of his Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposal.

Several amendments that include a cap on the tax deduction were also proposed during the Senate Finance Committee’s markup of the health care reform bill.

Senator Thune is joined in sending the letter by Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Kit Bond (R-MO), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Richard Burr (R-NC), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim DeMint (R-SC), John Ensign (R-NV), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), David Vitter (R-LA), George Voinovich (R-OH), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

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