Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag in a May 9 OMB blog has reiterated the Obama Administration's plans to cap the rate at which taxpayers earning over $250,000 can use itemized deductions to reduce their income tax liability at 28 percent.  MORE »

Taxwise Giving has been a mainstay of the charitable gift planning industry for over 47 years. In this excerpt from the March 2009 edition, editor Conrad Teitell, LL.B., LL.M. offers his take on the 28% bracket brouhaha, tax strategies before and after 2011 effective date if the charitable deduction proposal is enacted, and an opportunity for urging extension and expansion of the IRA charitable rollover.  MORE »

During a Tuesday evening prime time press conference, President Obama responded to a question from Politico's Mike Allen, who asked if the President was reconsidering his plan to cut the interest rate deduction for mortgages and for charities contained in the administration's current budget proposals?  MORE »

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, President Obama is open to revising his proposed plan to cap breaks on mortgage interest and charitable donations.  MORE »

The President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform yesterday presented its final report in which it made sweeping recommendations to overhaul the federal income tax system for individuals and corporations. The bipartisan panel offered six recommendations to strengthen incentives for charitable giving and improve tax administration.  MORE »

In an April 13 statement of administration policy, the Bush administration said it "strongly supports" House passage of H.R. 8, which would permanently repeal the estate tax.  MORE »

An executive order signed January 7 by President Bush announces the creation of a tax reform advisory panel comprising nine members appointed by him, with the purpose of submitting to the secretary of the Treasury revenue-neutral tax reform proposals in a report to be delivered no later than July 31, 2005. The panel was asked to recognize "the importance of homeownership and charity in American society."  MORE »

According to a news release by the Government Relations Committee of the National Committee on Planned Giving, President George W. Bush at a White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives held June 1st gave new assurances the White House is fully in support of the CARE Act and the IRA charitable rollover provision.  MORE »

The Bush administration has announced in a bipartisan charitable giving compromise bill, the Charity Aid, Relief, and Empowerment Act of 2002 (CARE), cosponsored by Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., and Rick Santorum, R-Pa., that includes some of the administration's tax incentives and faith-based initiatives. The bill would give the charitable contribution deduction to nonitemizers, allow tax-free distributions from IRAs for charitable purposes, increase the percentage limit for corporate charitable contributions, and allow some eligible lower-income Americans to set up individual development accounts (IDAs).   MORE »

During a visit to a local charity, President Bush called on Americans to support charities of all kinds, especially during the holiday season. The President also announced more than $1 billion in new grants to help the homeless and encouraged Congress to pass legislation enacting his Armies of Compassion initiative to significantly expand incentives for charitable giving.   MORE »