CASE Announces Support for the Universal Charitable Giving Act
The Universal Charitable Giving Act of 2017 would provide an important incentive for individuals to increase their charitable giving by extending the charitable deduction to non-itemizing taxpayers. CASE encourages lawmakers to support the bill introduced by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), and a companion bill in the House introduced by Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC).
Currently, the charitable deduction is only available to the roughly 30 percent of U.S. taxpayers who itemize their tax returns. By doubling the standard deduction threshold, the tax reform legislation currently being considered by Congress would reduce the number of itemizing taxpayers to just 5 percent. Without changes, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center projects that the House tax reform bill will lead to a $12 billion to $20 billion decline in charitable giving in 2018.
The Universal Charitable Giving Act would address the expected decline in giving by allowing non-itemizing taxpayers to deduct charitable gifts up to one-third of the standard deduction threshold. (The limit would be $8,000 for non-itemizing couples if the threshold is raised to $24,000). If the Universal Giving Act is included in tax reform legislation, all taxpayers -- regardless of income -- will have a tax incentive to give to educational institutions and other charitable organizations.
That would have a profound and positive impact on the many non-profit institutions who depend so heavily on private philanthropy. For CASE member institutions, charitable donations support student scholarships, faculty positions, groundbreaking research, and programs that provide transformational learning opportunities.
We salute and thank Senator Lankford and Representative Walker for introducing the Universal Charitable Giving Act and strongly urge lawmakers to include their proposal in the tax reform legislation being debated on Capitol Hill.
About CASE
CASE—the Council for Advancement and Support of Education—is a global, not-for-profit membership association with a vision to advance education to transform lives and society.
CASE is the home for advancement professionals, inspiring, challenging, and equipping them to act effectively and with integrity to champion the success of their institutions. CASE defines the competencies and standards for the profession of advancement, leading, and championing their dissemination and application with more than 97,000 advancement professionals at 3,100 member institutions in 80 countries.
Broad and growing communities of professionals gather under the global CASE umbrella. Currently these include alumni relations, development services, communications, fundraising, government relations, and marketing. These professionals are at all stages of their careers and may be working in universities, schools, colleges, cultural institutions, or other not-for-profits. CASE uses the intellectual capital and professional talents of a community of international volunteers to advance its work, and its membership includes many educational partners who work closely with the educational sector.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., CASE works across all continents from its regional offices in London, Singapore, and Mexico City to achieve a seamless experience for all its stakeholders, particularly its members, volunteers, and staff.