The House Ways and Means Committee, which is drafting a tax-reform bill, last week approved a provision that education lobbyists say would maintain current levels of charitable giving to schools and colleges.
The measure, added as a rider to the bill, would allow taxpayers who do not itemize deductions on their federal income-tax forms to deduct a charitable contribution of more than $100, said Diane Oberhelman, a legislative assistant to Representative Bill Frenzel, Republican of Minnesota and co-sponsor of the rider.
Because President Reagan’s tax-reform proposal would more than double the number of people who do not itemize, it is extremely important to organizations dependent on charitable giving that the deductions for non-itemizers be maintained, said Christine T. Milliken, vice president and general counsel of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
“While we oppose the $100 floor,” Ms. Milliken said, “it was the best deal we could get out of the committee.” A coalition of the major associations in higher education will lobby the Senate Finance Committee to remove the $100 floor when the tax proposal is discussed there later this year, she said.
Under current tax law, people who do not itemize are allowed to deduct charitable contributions. President Reagan’s tax proposal would not allow non-itemizers to do so.
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