Charities fear tax bill could turn philanthropy into a pursuit only for the rich

[Igel]

10. That's what happened in the '80s.

When the charitable tax deduction was sharply reduced.

Used to be if you donated $50 to a non-profit they'd give you a receipt and you could deduct that and still take the standard deduction.

That's what I used to do. Then charitable deductions became a thing just for those who donated enough to claim it when they itemized. The provision was allowed to expire in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, sponsored by Rostenkowski. Don't know who provided the text that discontinued small-donor charitable-giving tax deductions.

It was discussed at the time, and what little I remember from the news was that the charitable giving wasn't worth the government's sacrifice of the tax dollars. It was pointed out that most of the recipients were religious organizations, and that just got a shrug. NPR and NPR stations were more concerned about the effect on things like, well, NPR and NPR stations. (I was a volunteer board op for an NPR station and actively involved in on-air fundraising. Board op? Fun. Fundraising? Hell.)