St. Paul Pioneer Press | 01/15/2006 | Most charity tax breaks don't aid poor

St. Paul Pioneer Press | 01/15/2006 | Most charity tax breaks don't aid poor: "Most charity tax breaks don't aid poor
EDWARD LOTTERMAN

Unintended outcomes often reveal underlying principles. This is certainly true in the responses to Congress's temporary increase in the proportion of income that can be excluded from taxation through charitable gifts.

Intended as an incentive to help the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, the measure reportedly has become a bonanza for colleges and churches. This illustrates the case that while a lot of charitable giving might go to good causes, it does relatively little to relieve poverty.

After Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed a temporary measure that increased from 50 percent to 100 percent the proportion of income one can exclude from taxation through charitable giving. The intent was to motivate increased giving to those harmed by three destructive storms."