A statewide arts organization leader is putting out alarm bells about impacts to non-profits if the proposed federal tax reform legislation is passed into law.
Arts Wisconsin Executive Director Anne Katz says November 16, the House of Representatives voted along party lines and passed its tax reform bill, the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. The bill doubles the standard deduction and would significantly reduce the number of taxpayers who elect to itemize their deductions by as much as $30 million.
Katz says this would take away the incentive for charitable giving for many taxpayers, resulting in an overall reduction of giving by up to $20 billion in 2018. She says this change could have a devastating effects on the nonprofit sector and the millions of Americans served by these organizations....
"....the charitable tax deduction incentive, which provides people, no matter what amount of money they choose to give, to be able to deduct that amount from their taxes. It would be reserved for only the wealthiest 5 percent of taxpayers. If you donated $50 to WXPR and you did that not only because you love WXPR but because you want to get the best tax breaks you can, all perfectly legal, then you wouldn't get that...."
Katz fears the majority of people who now donate to charity simply won't donate. She says it comes at a time when non-profits are increasingly looked at to pick up the slack as funding for government agencies is dropping.
Katz recommended contacting Wisconsin Senators Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson before the vote in the Senate.
