[churchillbuff]

Isn't this a tax increase?

[Condor51]

Deductions for donating cars cost the government $654 million in 2000, according to a study last year by the Government Accountability Office

DAMMIT! It doesn't cost the government ANYTHING - it's NOT their MONEY!

[ctlpdad]

I buy cheap cars (under a grand) drive them for a few years and donate them. Since I have such a short commute, and can borrow a car from the company I work for, reliability isn't a huge problem.

I have donated my last 4 cars, and will probably not anymore without the deduction.

[KJacob]

A tax increase on who?

[dukeman]

We receive donated cars at our church. We don't sell them. Instead, we find a needy person and then transfer the title to them "as is." The end recipient gets a mostly free car (depending upon how much work it needs) and the donor claims a charatible deduction. The donor has to do his homework on setting a value for the donated car. I wonder whether this tax change will affect this approach?

[gridlock]

Isn't this a tax increase?

This is the elimination of a scam. The tax rate remains the same.

Bully! This is the right thing to do.

[Prime Choice]

Isn't this a tax increase?

Not if you don't donate vehicles to charity.

[Catphish]

I've donated two old cars and the charity took the cars away both times without so much as a cursory examination of either. They valued the cars at way above the price I would get on the used car market and when it was said and done the 40% tax rebate I received was more than I would have gotten had I sold the cars without a bit of the hassle. I felt sort of dirty afterwards. It was legal, but it wasn't exactly right, I'm glad they are addressing it.

[dead]

My accountant, who can find a way to deduct beer money, laughed when I handed him one of these receipts for a donated car.

He said, "Why don't you just put a note on your return that says 'Please audit'?" was how he put it.

It's a scam. He asked me what I could reasonably sell it for. The answer was about a quarter of what the receipt said, and we went with that number.

[JOAT]

"People who donate for genuine reasons will still donate for genuine reasons." Others, who were just after a tax break, may not.

Since when is donating something to charity to receive a tax break NOT a "genuine reason?"

If it is a cause I really believe in, I will donate regardless of the degree of government THEFT, but marginal ones are not going to receive any more benefit from me if I have to go through loads of red tape.

(And yes, I have donated decent vehicles before.)