Yes, the basic idea behind the charitable tax exemption is that a person can decide to fund a local charity instead of the federal government. Sure, people would contribute to charities regardless, but not sure why we’d ever sign off on allowing them to deduct it from their taxes.
“basic idea behind the charitable tax exemption is that a person can decide to fund a local charity instead of the federal government.“
The idea behind charitable tax exemption is to give the government power over the organizations through the status. The other intent of tax law is to coerce the taxpayers to spend money in accordance with government aims. The Tax Code is impossibly complex and written by special interests.
Going to some sort of flat tax across the board would invigorate the economy and deny this pernicious state control of individuals and organizations. If you want to save trees, have at it. If you want to have a black, white or Micronesian colony group enjoy. If you want to build schools, hospitals or stadiums, go for it. Just don’t coerce everyone else to support your individual or group’s goals.