Charitable deductions – Are these meant for donations inside our country or outside of our country?

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Charitable deductions – Are these meant for donations inside our country or outside of our country?

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December 16, 2011

I happened to be watching 60 minutes the other evening with another interview with President Obama. After the interview, they did a short piece on Howard Buffett who is slated to take over as Chairman of the Board for Berkshire Hathaway in the near future. Mostly, the story was about Howard being a farmer and the great charitable work he is doing around the world. They discussed that Warren Buffett gave over 31 billion dollars to the Bill Gates foundation which is also spending a great deal of money helping those that are underprivileged around the world.

While I was watching the program, several things occurred to me that I thought might of interest for the smart money moves readers. First and foremost, it seems to me that we are very concerned with how to raise more revenue in this country to balance out our budget. Part of the proposed solution is to potentially increase the estate or death tax to capture more assets from the very wealthy when money moves from generation to generation. One strategy used by the very wealthy today is to set up an assortment of charitable trusts that can potentially lower current income taxes today and estate taxes down the road. However, nobody questions what is happening with this charitable money. How much charitable money today that is being deducted is helping causes inside the country versus causes outside of the country?

I'm not sure if anyone knows that answer, but I do know this. With many families living below the poverty line, unemployment still remains at high levels and homes foreclosing every day, that charitable money could do a heck of a lot of good if it remained within the United States. Perhaps we need to revisit what really qualifies for a charitable deduction to see if the cause benefits something inside of our country or outside of our country?

This is something we need to consider as money leaves our country every day. Some of it because people take the cash back to their own country and don't pay taxes and others who get a deduction for helping out those less needy who don't live in the United States. For those that do live here, they sure could use a little of that Warren Buffett magic.

Visit www.OxygenFinancial.net to request a consultation with the leading financial experts for people in their 20's, 30's, and 40's in the country.

Written by:

Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®

Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc

Ted Jenkin is one of the foremost knowledgeable professionals in giving financial advice and Smart Money Moves to the X and Y Generation.

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Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. oXYGen Financial is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS. Kestra IS and Kestra AS do not provide tax or legal advice. https://Bit.ly/KF-Disclosures

This site is published for residents of the United States only. Registered Representatives of Kestra IS and Investment Advisor Representatives of Kestra AS may only conduct business with residents of the states and jurisdictions in which they are properly registered. Therefore, a response to a request for information may be delayed. Not all products and services referenced on this site are available in every state and through every representative or advisor listed. For additional information, please contact Kestra IS Compliance Department at 844-553-7872.

PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the web sites provided here, you are leaving this web site. Kestra IS and Kestra AS makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these web sites. Nor is Kestra IS and Kestra AS liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, web sites, information and programs made available through this web site. When you access one of these web sites, you are leaving our web site and assume total responsibility and risk for your use of the web sites you are linking to.