CHARITABLE GIVING MISUNDERSTOOD
There seems to be no shortage of articles
depicting the uncharitable nature of our two major presidential nominees. Here’s one critical of Hillary Clinton.
Mother Jones reports:
Clinton’s tax filings show that she and Bill Clinton donated just over $1
million to charity last year, 96 percent of which went to their own foundation
and four percent to fund a golf tournament.
This is pretty darned incestuous: taking a deduction for contributing to
the employer of your daughter and expense payer of your husband.
Nor
does Donald Trump escape unscathed.
Donald
Trump, widely believed to be the wealthiest American ever to run for president,
is nowhere among the ranks of the country's most generous citizens, according
to an Associated Press review of his financial records. Trump has said he donated $102 million worth
of cash and land to philanthropic and conservation organizations over the past
five years, but he has provided little documentation for these contributions,
and tax filings show Trump has made no charitable contributions to his own name
since 2008. Trump has not released his
tax records. Such documents would likely provide a clearer picture of his
giving.
The real problem is that most persons
reporting—or in most cases misreporting—on
the charitable natures of the wealthy are sadly out of their element. Should you want to know what sort of
charities Bill Gates or Warren Buffett support, you’ll not find them on their
personal tax returns. Persons whose net
worth is measured in eight or more figures generally conduct their giving
through private foundations, as do both Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton. It’s the tax returns of these foundations,
which are filed annually and available for public scrutiny, that illustrate the
charitable natures of their founders.
There are many reasons you may find disfavor
with both nominees, but the numbers which may or may not appear on the Schedule
A of their Federal Tax Forms 1040 is not one such reason.
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
If you enjoy this
weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly
Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, The Road to Prosperity
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
No comments:
Post a Comment