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Income tax policy and charitable giving

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  • Arthur C. Brooks

    (Syracuse University)

Abstract

Many studies over the past 20 years have looked at the response of charitable donations to tax incentives-the tax price elasticity of giving. Generally, authors have assumed this elasticity is constant across all types of giving. Using the 2001 Panel Study of Income Dynamics data on charitable giving, this paper estimates the tax price elasticity across six nonprofit subsectors, finding substantial variation. These results suggest that the fiscal effectiveness of tax deductibility depends on the type of donation involved. This has implications for both public policy and nonprofit management. © 2007 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:jpamgt:v:26:y:2007:i:3:p:599-612
    DOI: 10.1002/pam.20267
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Helms, Sara E. & Thornton, Jeremy P., 2012. "The influence of religiosity on charitable behavior: A COPPS investigation," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 373-383.
    3. 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.
    4. James Alm & Daniel Teles, 2018. "State and federal tax policy toward nonprofit organizations," Chapters, in: Bruce A. Seaman & Dennis R. Young (ed.), Handbook of Research on Nonprofit Economics and Management, chapter 19, pages 370-385, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Ernest M. Zampelli & Steven T. Yen, 2017. "The Impact Of Tax Price Changes On Charitable Contributions To The Needy," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(1), pages 113-124, January.
    6. Heist, H. Daniel & Cnaan, Ram A., 2018. "Price and agency effects on charitable giving behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 129-138.
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. Amir Barnea & Robert Heinkel & Alan Kraus, 2013. "Corporate social responsibility, stock prices, and tax policy," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 46(3), pages 1066-1084, August.
    10. Steven T Yen & Ernest M Zampelli, 2017. "Charitable Contributions of Time and Money: A Multivariate Sample Selection Approach," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 43(1), pages 43-63, January.
    11. Barış K. Yörük, 2013. "The Impact of Charitable Subsidies on Religious Giving and Attendance: Evidence from Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(5), pages 1708-1721, December.
    12. 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.
    13. Wodon, Quentin & Alleyne, Betty & Cong, Lin & Mulusa, Judy & Niami, Farhad, 2014. "Accounting for Trends in Charitable Tax Deductions: Framework and Application to the District of Columbia," MPRA Paper 45392, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Loeper, Antoine, 2017. "Cross-border externalities and cooperation among representative democracies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 180-208.
    15. Belayet Hossain & Laura Lamb, 2015. "An assessment of the impact of tax incentives relative to socio-economic characteristics on charitable giving in Canada," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(1), pages 65-80, January.
    16. YoungRok Kim, 2021. "Politics, Religion, and Tax Incentives for Charitable Giving in South Korea," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 37, pages 141-155.

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