Thursday, November 17, 2005

Rocky Mountain News: Other Business-Charities cheer tax plan to boost giving

Rocky Mountain News: Other Business: "Charities cheer tax plan to boost giving
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By Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News
November 17, 2005
Tax write-offs for charitable gifts have long been reserved for those who itemize on their annual returns, but Congress appears ready to give everyone an incentive to open their wallets to needy causes.

The move to allow deductions by the roughly 75 percent of taxpayers who can't write off gifts because they don't itemize could take effect in 2006, now that lawmakers have included it in a key piece of pending tax legislation.

Local groups say the change could go a long way toward boosting charitable giving in the state. Colorado ranks 46th in the nation for its generosity, according to a 2004 index by the Catalogue for Philanthropy.

'Anything we can do to motivate charitable giving in Colorado is important,' said Charley Shimanski, president of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, which represents roughly 17,000 charitable groups."

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