Higher taxes on the rich result in an increase in the size of government at the expense of private charity.
Docuticker reports that Bank of America has published its High Net Worth Philanthropic Study which finds that charitable giving by high net worth households to nonprofit organizations accounts for about two-thirds of all individual giving and about half of all charitable giving in the United States.
More importantly, the study shows that low taxes do not necessarily put more money in the pockets of the rich as the pro-tax left loves to assert, but rather in the pockets of private charities.
Here is what the study concludes about the effects of taxes on charitable giving:
Effect on giving if there were no deductions
Overall, high net worth households reported that their giving would somewhat decrease if there were no tax deductions for donations. The percentage of high net worth households who reported their charitable giving would somewhat decrease, increased to 48.3 percent in 2009 from 37 percent in 2007 (see Figure 32). In 2009, 32.6 percent of high net worth households reported that their giving would stay the same if they received zero income tax deductions for their donations, a decrease from the 51.7 percent reported in 2007.
Nearly 19 percent of wealthy households reported that their giving would dramatically decrease if they did not receive any tax deductions for their donations to nonprofit organizations
Effect on Giving If Estate Tax Were Repealed
In 2009, wealthy households reported a shift in the amount they would leave to charity in their estate plan if the estate tax were repealed (see Figure 33). Fewer than half of all high net worth households (47.5 percent) reported that the amount they would leave to charity in their estate plan would stay the same if the estate tax were repealed, a decrease of 6.5 percentage points from 2007.
Forty-three percent of high net worth households reported that they would leave more to charity if the estate tax were repealed.
The reason rich people oppose high taxes is not, as the left would have you believe, because they are greedy and want to buy more yachts, but rather because they know that private charitable organizations will spend their money more efficiently and responsibly than the federal government will spend it?
3 responses so far ↓
1 They Don’t Get It! // Nov 15, 2010 at 9:35 am
[...] RSS ← Rich People Give Less to Private Charity When Taxes Increase [...]
2 Double the Charitable Deduction to Spur the Economy // Feb 1, 2011 at 8:13 pm
[...] Rich People Give Less to Charity When Taxes Increase [...]
3 Mawadda International // Jun 4, 2011 at 6:20 am
It okay they share amidst this tax increase at least they still have the heart to share.