Incentives To Charity

Press, Volume C, Issue 29435, 10 February 1961, Page 12

Incentives To Charity

Most people regard charity as an admirable virtue, to be encouraged by all practicable means. The Cashmere School Committee and its

spokesman, Mr W. Rosen- , berg, seem to disagree. They take umbrage at politicians’ promises to exempt from income tax gifts for charitable and educational purposes because, in the committee’s view, such exemptions would be contrary to the denial of State aid to private schools. The reasoning behind this claim is far from clear, since the effect would be to discourage the exercise of personal initiative and moral judgment in supporting unexceptionable causes. The welfare State tends to deprive individuals of reasonable freedom to spend their money as they like, and to determine

the entire structure of social services through concentrating in its own hands financial resources that might otherwise support private organisations. This is bad because it reduces personal and local interest in charitable or educational institutions. Many who wish to help private charities are men and women without dependants, upon whom income tax bears most harshly. Tax exemptions in these circumstances could be crucial in determining whether worth-while contributions were made to communal projects. Moreover, if a man’s money is given to the community, is it logical that the community should tax it? To oppose incentives to charity is to lose sight of the humanitarian values upon which the welfare State is supposed to be based.