As the President and Congress desultorily consider how to deal with the huge current deficit and accumulated federal debt, much attention is being given to federal tax deductions, such as the deduction for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and charitable contributions. One argument is fairness: these deductions go disproportionately to better-off taxpayers. But the main reason for all the attention is revenue: how to bring more dollars into the federal treasury?

But of course the various federal deductions are not equivalent. The deduction for charitable contributions is in a class by itself: yes, it benefits the taxpayers who claim it, but those taxpayers can only claim it because they have chosen to give away money to causes that benefit other people! And by stimulating more such giving, the loss to the federal Treasury is more than offset by the flourishing of a wide range of community-enriching initiatives to combat poverty, heal the sick, educate the young, and uplift art and music lovers. These are important alternatives to the programs designed by government. They ought not be undermined in the effort to shore of the foundations of government operations.

That’s why organizations like the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, the Salvation Army, and Catholic Charities–along with many others–traveled to Washington, DC, on December 4-5 to urge Congress not to undermine the charitable sector as it searches for more tax dollars.

Further information at the Alliance for Charitable Reform.