Massachusetts Question 7 (2000)

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Massachusett's Question 7 (2000) was a citizen initiative that appeared on the ballot in 2000. It proposed a state income tax deduction for chariable contributions.

Contents

Summary

The proposed law would allow taxpayers who give to charity a state personal income tax deduction for those charitable contributions. A taxpayer could take a deduction from any Part B income, including wages and salaries, of an amount equal to his or her charitable contributions for the year. The taxpayer could take the deduction whether or not the taxpayer itemized deductions on his or her federal income tax return. The proposed law would apply to any contribution that met the definition of charitable contribution used under federal income tax law.

Supporters

The measure was supported by The Committee to Encourage Charitable Giving. They offered to following reasons for voting for the initiative:

  • The proposed law encourages people to give to charity, with an expected $220 million per year increase in charitable gifts.
  • Massachusetts is one of only 8 states that does not allow a charitable deduction from taxable income.
  • Massachusetts was recently ranked 48th out of 50 states in the "generosity index" of the Catalogue of Philanthropy.

Opponents

The initiative was opposed by State Senator Michael W. Morrissey. He argued that the proposal was written to make it possible for some individuals to "avoid their fair share of taxes even if they make a contribution to an out of state institution that brings no benefit to Massachusetts or its citizens." He also complained that the proposed law's definition of "charity" was too vague and cited a Wall Street Journal article from May 5 2000 documents abuses to the charitable giving deduction by wealthy individuals.

Status

The initiative passed with 1,834,305 votes in favor of the new law and 714,884 votes against it.

See also

References

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