IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/tpolec/doi10.1086-708172.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Author

Listed:
  • Jonathan Meer
  • Benjamin A. Priday

Abstract

We estimate the tax price elasticity of charitable giving using newly available data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics spanning 2001–17. We find that households that always itemize are less sensitive to changes in the tax treatment of donations than households that switch itemizing status. We apply these results to the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, taking into account the marginal propensity to donate from the increase in disposable income expected for most households, and we predict significant reductions in charitable giving.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan Meer & Benjamin A. Priday, 2020. "Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 113-138.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:tpolec:doi:10.1086/708172
    DOI: 10.1086/708172
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/708172
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/708172
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/708172?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon M. Bakija & William G. Gale & Joel B. Slemrod, 2003. "Charitable Bequests and Taxes on Inheritances and Estates: Aggregate Evidence from across States and Time," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 366-370, May.
    2. Kimberley Scharf & Sarah Smith & Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, 2022. "Lift and Shift: The Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 296-321, August.
    3. Meer, Jonathan, 2014. "Effects of the price of charitable giving: Evidence from an online crowdfunding platform," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 113-124.
    4. Mark Ottoni Wilhelm, 2008. "Practical Considerations for Choosing Between Tobit and SCLS or CLAD Estimators for Censored Regression Models with an Application to Charitable Giving," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 70(4), pages 559-582, August.
    5. Almunia, Miguel & Guceri, Irem & Lockwood, Ben & Scharf, Kimberley, 2020. "More giving or more givers? The effects of tax incentives on charitable donations in the UK," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    6. Reece, William S & Zieschang, Kimberly D, 1985. "Consistent Estimation of the Impact of Tax Deductibility on the Level of Charitable Contributions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(2), pages 271-293, March.
    7. Duquette, Nicolas J., 2019. "Founders’ Fortunes and Philanthropy: A History of the U.S. Charitable-Contribution Deduction," Business History Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 93(3), pages 553-584, October.
    8. Alexander L. Brown & Jonathan Meer & J. Forrest Williams, 2019. "Why Do People Volunteer? An Experimental Analysis of Preferences for Time Donations," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(4), pages 1455-1468, April.
    9. Jonathan Meer & David Miller & Elisa Wulfsberg, 2017. "The Great Recession and charitable giving," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(21), pages 1542-1549, December.
    10. repec:pri:cepsud:236rosen is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Duquette, Nicolas J., 2018. "Inequality and philanthropy: High-income giving in the United States 1917–2012," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 25-41.
    12. Daniel Hungerman & Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, 2016. "What is the Price Elasticity of Charitable Giving? Toward a Reconciliation of Disparate Estimates," Artefactual Field Experiments 00557, The Field Experiments Website.
    13. Meer, Jonathan & Rosen, Harvey S., 2013. "Donative behavior at the end of life," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 192-201.
    14. Fack, Gabrielle & Landais, Camille (ed.), 2016. "Charitable Giving and Tax Policy: A Historical and Comparative Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198723660.
    15. Alex Brill & Derrick Choe, 2018. "Charitable giving and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," AEI Economic Perspectives, American Enterprise Institute, June.
    16. Duquette, Nicolas J., 2016. "Do tax incentives affect charitable contributions? Evidence from public charities' reported revenues," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 51-69.
    17. List, John A. & Peysakhovich, Yana, 2011. "Charitable donations are more responsive to stock market booms than busts," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 110(2), pages 166-169, February.
    18. James Andreoni, 2018. "The Benefits and Costs of Donor-Advised Funds," Tax Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(1), pages 1-44.
    19. Joulfaian, David, 1991. "Charitable Bequests and Estate Taxes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 44(2), pages 169-80, June.
    20. Clotfelter, Charles T, 1980. "Tax Incentives and Charitable Giving: Evidence from a Panel of Taxpayers," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 319-340, June.
    21. Boskin, Michael J & Feldstein, Martin S, 1977. "Effects of the Charitable Deduction on Contributions by Low Income and Middle Income Households: Evidence from the National Survey of Philanthropy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 59(3), pages 351-354, August.
    22. Gabrielle Fack & Camille Landais, 2010. "Are Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving Efficient? Evidence from France," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 117-141, May.
    23. Clotfelter, Charles T., 1980. "Tax incentives and charitable giving: evidence from a panel of taxpayers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 319-340, June.
    24. Randolph, William C, 1995. "Dynamic Income, Progressive Taxes, and the Timing of Charitable Contributions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 709-738, August.
    25. Daniel Feenberg & Elisabeth Coutts, 1993. "An introduction to the TAXSIM model," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(1), pages 189-194.
    26. Jon Bakija, 2013. "Tax Policy and Philanthropy: A Primer on the Evidence for the U.S. and its Implications," Department of Economics Working Papers 2013-01, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    27. Feldstein, Martin S & Taylor, Amy, 1976. "The Income Tax and Charitable Contributions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 44(6), pages 1201-1222, November.
    28. Joulfaian, David, 1991. "Charitable Bequests and Estate Taxes," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 44(2), pages 169-180, June.
    29. Bakija, Jon & Heim, Bradley T., 2011. "How Does Charitable Giving Respond to Incentives and Income? New Estimates From Panel Data," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 64(2), pages 615-650, June.
    30. Gerald E. Auten & Holger Sieg & Charles T. Clotfelter, 2002. "Charitable Giving, Income, and Taxes: An Analysis of Panel Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 371-382, March.
    31. Youssef Benzarti, 2020. "How Taxing Is Tax Filing? Using Revealed Preferences to Estimate Compliance Costs," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 38-57, November.
    32. Bönke, Timm & Werdt, Clive, 2015. "Charitable giving and its persistent and transitory reactions to changes in tax incentives: Evidence from the German taxpayer panel," Discussion Papers 2015/2, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    33. Meer, Jonathan, 2011. "Brother, can you spare a dime? Peer pressure in charitable solicitation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 926-941.
    34. Duquette, Nicolas J., 2019. "Do share-of-income limits on tax-deductibility of charitable contributions affect giving?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 1-4.
    35. Wilhelm, Mark O., 2006. "New data on charitable giving in the PSID," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(1), pages 26-31, July.
    36. Peter G. Backus & Nicky L. Grant, 2019. "How sensitive is the average taxpayer to changes in the tax-price of giving?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(2), pages 317-356, April.
    37. Arthur C. Brooks, 2007. "Income tax policy and charitable giving," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 599-612.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Julia Cagé & Malka Guillot, 2021. "Is Charitable Giving Political? Evidence from Wealth and Income Tax Returns," Working Papers hal-03877993, HAL.
    2. Heger, Stephanie A. & Slonim, Robert & Tausch, Franziska & Tymula, Agnieszka, 2021. "Altruism among consumers as donors," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 611-622.
    3. Marius A. K. Ring & Thor Olav Thoresen, 2022. "Wealth Taxation and Charitable Giving," CESifo Working Paper Series 9700, CESifo.
    4. Heger, Stephanie A. & Slonim, Robert, 2022. "Giving begets giving: Positive path dependence as moral consistency," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 699-718.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jonathan Meer & Benjamin A. Priday, 2019. "Tax Prices and Charitable Giving: Projected Changes in Donations Under the 2017 TCJA," NBER Working Papers 26452, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Peter G. Backus & Nicky L. Grant, 2019. "How sensitive is the average taxpayer to changes in the tax-price of giving?," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 26(2), pages 317-356, April.
    3. Backus, Peter, 2010. "Is charity a homogeneous good?," Economic Research Papers 270773, University of Warwick - Department of Economics.
    4. Backus, Peter, 2010. "Is charity a homogeneous good?," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 951, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    5. Ross Hickey & Brad Minaker & A. Abigail Payne & Joanne Roberts & Justin Smith, 2023. "The Effect of Tax Price on Donations: Evidence from Canada," National Tax Journal, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(2), pages 291-315.
    6. Peter Backus & Nicky Grant, 2016. "Consistent Estimation of the Tax-Price Elasticity of Charitable Giving with Survey Data," Economics Discussion Paper Series 1606, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    7. Adena, Maja, 2021. "Tax-price elasticity of charitable donations – evidence from the German taxpayer panel," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 219-235.
    8. Julia Cagé & Malka Guillot, 2021. "Is Charitable Giving Political? Evidence from Wealth and Income Tax Returns," Working Papers hal-03877993, HAL.
    9. Dajung Jun, 2019. "The Effects of the Dependent Health Insurance Coverage Mandates on Fathers’ Job Mobility and Compensation," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2019n09, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    10. Timm Bönke & Nima Massarrat-Mashhadi & Christian Sielaff, 2013. "Charitable giving in the German welfare state: fiscal incentives and crowding out," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 154(1), pages 39-58, January.
    11. Marius A. K. Ring & Thor Olav Thoresen, 2022. "Wealth Taxation and Charitable Giving," CESifo Working Paper Series 9700, CESifo.
    12. YoungRok Kim, 2023. "Effects of tax benefits on the price elasticity of charitable contributions in South Korea," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 206-217, May.
    13. Hiroki Kato & Tsuyoshi Goto & Youngrok Kim, 2023. "Tax-Price Elasticities of Charitable Giving and Selection of Declaration: Panel Study of South Korea," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 23-05, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    14. Hyeon Park, 2023. "Giving and volunteering over a lifecycle," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 335-369, March.
    15. Almunia, Miguel & Guceri, Irem & Lockwood, Ben & Scharf, Kimberley, 2020. "More giving or more givers? The effects of tax incentives on charitable donations in the UK," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    16. Chandrayee Chatterjee & James C. Cox & Michael K. Price & Florian Rundhammer, 2020. "Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Understanding How State Tax Credits Impact Charitable Giving," NBER Working Papers 27163, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Asatryan, Zareh & Joulfaian, David, 2022. "Taxes and Business Philanthropy in Armenia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 914-930.
    18. Anubhav Gupta & Thomas Luke Spreen, 2024. "Do tax credits benefit charities? Evidence from two states," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(1), pages 94-109, January.
    19. Ross Hickey & Bradley Minaker & A. Abigail Payne, 2019. "The Sensitivity of Charitable Giving to the Timing and Salience of Tax Credits," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 72(1), pages 79-110, March.
    20. Zachary Halberstam & James R. Hines Jr., 2023. "Quality-Aware Tax Incentives for Charitable Contributions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10250, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:tpolec:doi:10.1086/708172. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/TPE .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.