Key Players in Fiscal Cliff Tax Issues
By Doug Donovan and Suzanne Perry
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
January 13, 2013
As Congress haggled over ways to avert the "fiscal cliff," the White House asked nonprofits to support its efforts to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to counter Republican efforts to reduce the budget deficit mostly through spending cuts. Some groups agreed to make President Obama's case to their supporters, while others chose to avoid what they feared could give a partisan taint to their efforts to prevent limits to the charitable deduction.
Mr. Obama has proposed many times to limit the tax savings that wealthy people get from itemized deductions, including gifts to charity. He argues that the current system is unfair because people in higher tax brackets get a bigger break than lower-income people. Most nonprofit leaders strongly oppose that plan.
... Endorsed Obama's Tax Plan
Aaron Dorfman
Executive Director, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
Role: Advocated in his blog and on the Huffington Post for nonprofits to publicly support Obama's call for higher tax rates for the wealthy rather than pushing to protect the charitable deduction; attended the December White House meeting at the administration's invitation.
Political background: Served 15 years as a community organizer.
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