Bishop Urges Reagan Not to Change Charity Rules
The head of the nation’s Roman Catholic bishops Thursday asked President Reagan to reject proposed tax reform legislation that threatens contributions to religious and charitable agencies.
Bishop James Malone of Youngstown, Ohio, president of the U.S. Catholic Conference, said in a letter to Reagan that changes proposed by the Treasury Department involving charitable contributions could result in “reducing the support of private charity and impairing the ability of donors to continue their generosity.”
Malone cited a study estimating that the decline in charitable deductions would amount to $13 billion if the plan were approved.
Under the proposal, charitable contributions could be deducted only to the extent that they exceed 2% of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, the charitable deduction for non-itemizing taxpayers would be repealed, and the tax break for donating appreciated property would be removed.
“This is no time . . . for the federal government to take money away from private charity,” Malone said.
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