Religious bodies oppose lower tax deductions

For the third time in three years President Obama's proposed budget
will attempt to reduce tax deductions for high-end charitable donors,
and for the third time nonprofits and religious organizations are
pushing back.

Many religious nonprofits, which supplement their
budgets heavily with donations from wealthy donors, are concerned that
reducing the tax write-offs for charitable donations will cause a
decrease in giving, said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent
Sector, a coalition of nonprofit organizations.

"The question is,
do tax incentives work, do they stimulate more money than they cost?"
Aviv said. "Experts estimate that this proposal could reduce charitable
giving by $7 billion."