Robert Smith: “I rise to introduce with Senator Feinstein legislation that will provide incentives to taxpayers to use their wealth for…”

“I rise to introduce with Senator Feinstein legislation that will provide incentives to taxpayers to use their wealth for charitable causes. In this era of ever-tightening fiscal constraints placed on congressional ability to authorize discretionary funding, we have asked our communities to do more and more for those less fortunate. Charitable organizations in our communities have become an integral part of the safety net for the poor and homeless and significant sources of assistance for education in every community. To help charities take advantage of those donors who wish to contribute significant wealth for charitable purposes, we are introducing the Charitable Giving Incentive Act. This legislation will change current tax law to encourage prospective donors to contribute a controlling interest in a closely-held corporation to charity. When a donor is willing to make a gift of a controlling interest in a company, a tax is imposed on the corporation upon its liquidation, reducing the gift that the charity receives by 35 percent. The Smith/ Feinstein bill would eliminate this egregious tax that is levied upon the value of these qualifying corporations. We sincerely hope that this will directly encourage meaningful contributions to charitable organizations that help a variety of causes.”