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Student Publications Homepage
ARTICLE CONTENTS
[Pages 843-874]
TOP OF ARTICLE
I. The History of the Charitable Contribution Deduction and the Standard Deduction
A. War Revenue Act of 1917
B. Individual Income Tax Act of 1944
C. Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981
D. Tax Reform Act of 1986
E. Current Proposals
II. Policy Rationales for the Charitable Contribution Deduction
A. Deduction as an Incentive: The Argument from Efficiency
1. Evidence on Elasticity
2. Adding Administrative Concerns to the Mix
3. Effect on Volunteering—Time vs. Money
4. Moving from Dollar Efficiency to Economic Efficiency
B. Allowing Nonitemizers to Deduct Is Only Fair—The Argument from Equity
1. Equal Treatment of Itemizers and Nonitemizers
2. Deductions as Inequitable to Lower-Income Taxpayers
3. Defining the Tax Base
Conclusion
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