You hear a lot about how “the rich” are using charities to effectively reduce their tax to minimal amounts, among other methods.
On the face of it without digging, it obviously makes people angry and detest the rich. But scratching beneath the surface, I’m not quite sure how exactly they would achieve this? In order to claim the tax back from money donated, you still have to… donate money? Which would still equal more than the money claimed back from tax.
So unless they are actually doing something illegal and funneling money through a charity, claiming tax, and then using that money from the charity to fund purchases not related to the charities mission, how exactly is it benefiting the donor (financially)?
In: Economics
People get mad when they own the charity they’re donating to.
For example, Elon Musk donates to the Musk Foundation, which Musk is in charge of and who’s mission is to give grants for space exploration. Sometimes this means giving money directly to SpaceX, or it’s partners, or it’s researchers, at a preferable tax rate.
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