Foster spirit of giving with generous policies
China Daily  Updated: 2005-11-22 06:17

China Charity Conference, which was held on Sunday, sent a message that we still have a long way to go in cultivating awareness of philanthropy among citizens, and in establishing a sound system for the smooth operation of charity organizations.

Seventy-five individuals, 31 organizations and 12 projects were awarded the China charity prize for their contributions. Figures indicate that money donated to domestic charity organizations totalled 5 billion (US$617 million) in 2004, accounting for just 0.05 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

Surveys have shown that 99 per cent of domestic enterprises have never made charitable donations.

We do have the tradition of the rich being philanthropic. It was a frequent occurrence in ancient times for local rich families to offer free food to refugees on the occasion of famine or other natural disasters. Some rich families would allow anyone who passed by to enjoy a free meal, or would give out money on some traditional festivals or on birthdays.

We used to believe that the more charitable we were, the more credit we would accumulate for the next world.

It is probably because very few believe in the existence of an afterlife that the idea of earning credit does not seem to be a concern for many. Maximum enjoyment of material life in this world has eroded the traditional virtue of always having a heart for the poor and the weak.

Yet, the moral baseline for human civilization is that we should show sympathy for our poor peers, and the world would be a mess if we did not.

Moreover, a sound system is badly needed to guarantee that donors do not suffer losses just because they donate to charity. The current tax law stipulates that if an enterprise makes a donation, the tax deductible amount of its corporate income is within 3 per cent. Individual donors, however, enjoy a 30 per cent tax deductible policy.

That means a firm does not enjoy any further tax benefits for donations exceeding 3 per cent of their taxed income. Some argue that the current tax rule does not encourage giving.

In 2003, the State tax watchdog allowed full tax exemption on donations to only 12 designated charity organizations, the restriction of which has narrowed channels for potential donors.

Good news came from Sunday's conference in that tax policies are expected to be revised in favour of charity donors. The Ministry of Civil Affairs promised in a guideline for the development of charity performance in China that in the next five years protecting enthusiasm of donors by improving the related tax policies would be an important task.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs is working with experts from Tsinghua University on a set of rules for the assessment of the current 289,000 charity organizations in the country. The rules will be used to regulate the performance of these charitable organizations.

All these efforts will hopefully help create an environment to encourage people to open their wallets to the needy.

Currently 60 million natural disaster refugees need to be assisted every year on average, while 20 million urbanites live on minimum living allowances. In addition, 75 million rural people are still struggling for just enough to wear and eat. Sixty million disabled people and 140 million above the age of 60 also need assistance.

Both education and mechanisms are needed to wake up the benevolence deep in the hearts of many, for the creation of a better world for all.

(China Daily 11/22/2005 page4)

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