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Fay Reid's avatar

I agree with your sentiment, Graham, but not with your reading of our tax code. As a person who all her working life made charitable donations, I can assure you I did not get a rebate on the total donation. Say I gave $1000 to a charity and my gross income was $100,000 - I would still be taxed on the remaining $99,000 at whatever the rate is for that income. Ordinary citizens - the 90% of us who are not exceedingly wealthy. I don't know the tax rate off the top of my head, but let's say it was 30%. On $100,000 that would be $30,000, on $99.000 it would be $29,700. So, the $1000 donation would only cost me $700. This is oversimplification of course, and it does not apply to corporations, and the ultra wealthy. For example I can claim only charitable donations, if the donation is to a political or a support for political I can't claim it at all. But somehow corporations and the ultra wealthy do.

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Graham Vincent's avatar

Without getting lost in the figures, tax rebates on charity donations generally work as follows: the certificate of donation entitles you to deduct the donation from your top slice income, after which your tax liability is calculated.

If you earn 100,000 and donate 1,000, at a constant tax rate of 25%, you would pay 25,000 of tax without the donation and 24,750 with the donation. But you have to make the donation out of taxable income.

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Fay Reid's avatar

Correct, but that is not a rebate. It is simply a lower tax to encourage charitable donations. And as I said it does not include political donations - unless you are a corporation or very wealthy. Rebates are like when I had solar voltaic on my roof and solar hot water. I paid $32,000 and got $12,000 in government rebates.

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Graham Vincent's avatar

I've amended the text accordingly. Thanks.

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Graham Vincent's avatar

No, you're right. It's not a rebate. It's a tax break. It's a deductible allowance.

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Daniel Appleton's avatar

If I STAND UP for Israel, it'll only be because an Evangelical or Zionist is threatening to spraypaint a wall with human brain matter, specifically MINE. I have respect for life of all kinds, but perhaps Zionists aren't valid life forms ( I know, but Zionists are resembling NAZIS with each cold - blooded missive from the Gaza region in a horrifying way.

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