Tax rebates for donations
The government should issue more preferential policies for charity organizations, says an article in the Beijing Times. Excerpt:
It's encouraging to see a city compete with others for charity, and not for GDP growth. But despite Xingyang authorities having announced that they want to build a "charitable city", people fear the move may backfire.
Government officials in Xingyang will help build 1,000 charitable organizations. This reminds us of another government that some years ago issued an order, saying: All government employees must raise cows to help boost the local administration's efforts to increase the number of cattle.
Xingyang may have its own reason to build a "charitable city" - donations in the city this year have declined sharply from last year. And after government officials take charge of the charitable organizations, getting more donations could even become easy.
Enterprises may have to make donations because government regulators would compel them to. It's very likely that Xingyang may break all records for donations. But then how will the authorities use the money?
More importantly, the Xingyang government's move goes against the spirit of charity. Donation, unlike paying tax, is a voluntary act borne out of conscience and social responsibility.
Governments in many countries exempt the amount donated by a person from taxation.
The logic behind it is clear: Money contributed by the people to help the government do the things it should have done on its own must not be taxed.
Charity work lacks the proper drive perhaps because it is still controlled by the government, and voluntary charitable activities are still not acceptable by law.
If Xingyang really wants to turn itself into a "charitable city" it should encourage its residents and enterprises to participate more in charitable activities by granting tax rebates.
(China Daily 08/13/2009 page9)
