Pukes Closes Major Tax Loophole for Middle Class (charitable donations) [View All]

[democraticinsurgent]

NEW RULES
Don’t donate junk, expect income-tax deduction
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Mary Dalrymple
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Any household item with little value likely won’t qualify for a deduction under new tax rules for charitable giving and receiving.

The Internal Revenue Service may deny deductions for donations of clothing or household items — furniture, appliances, linens, electronics and similar items — that aren’t in "good" condition.

"What is the definition of good and better?" asked Maj. Todd Hawks, national public affairs secretary for the Salvation Army.

The new rules, which became law Thursday when President Bush signed a massive pension bill, ask the Treasury Department and IRS to define those terms.

http://dispatch.com/national-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/08/19/20060819-A1-00.html

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My comments: on the face, not a terrible thing; no one should get tax deductions for donating junk. However, this is one of the few areas where lower to middle class Americans can actually get a tax deduction. Proving an item to be in good working order isn't easy or even possible many times. Plus, lots of thrift shoppers are thrilled to find old electronics and other items that aren't perfect if they know how to fix them up. Thrift stores are all about "one man's trash is another man's treasure".

Just seems like another slap in the face to working America in a series of many many slaps.