ABSTRACT
The tax writeoff is grossly inequitable among donors, poorly controlled by government, and is part of a tax system that citizens increasingly feel is illegitimate. The contribution bonus is wholly equitable, includes all givers, sustains reciprocity with recipients, is controllable by government, and is legitimate in treating expenditures as expenditures and not as tax dodges. Federal contributions might well be seen as a lever to direct larger amounts of private money in desired directions, "freeing" other departmental funds for different purposes. Contributions to charitable organizations can be deducted from an individual's taxable income. Two proposals, one a tax expenditure and the other a budget expenditure, have been suggested as alternatives to the tax writeoff. The credit works through the income-tax system by returning to each charitable donor an amount equal to a percentage of his or her contribution. The tax credit is substantially more equitable than the tax writeoff.
