Tax Policy

AS THE year winds down, many people are making last-minute decisions about charitable gift giving.One question that perennially pops up is whether or not tax concerns affect such giving.In the past 25 years, 11 major tax law changes have created a mind-numbing 9,455 Internal Revenue Service tax code revisions. Despite the 1997 tax overhaul, we already have proposals before Congress for new changes. Some of these proposals could have a major impact on our nation's charities and, by extension, on the quality of life in our communities.

In the great pile of email that arrived after last Sunday's column on millionaires who whine about "class warfare," there were numerous defenses of wealthy "job creators like Mitt Romney," and an equal number of attacks on "liberals like President Obama" who believe the rich should start paying more in income taxes again. Beachterp — that's his email handle (he did not provide his full name when asked) — made a number of assertions about millionaires, including Maryland's, and the unfairness of asking them to contribute more of their earnings to the public treasuries.

WASHINGTON -- Bowing to rank-and-file pressure, the Democratic chairmen of the Senate and House tax-writing committees have agreed to propose a tax cut for middle-income taxpayers in October and to push for its adoption next year.bTC Because the legislation is expected to meet pay-as-you-go requirements of last year's budget agreement between President Bush and Congress by sharply increasing taxes for upper-income Americans, however, it appears certain to be vetoed with scant chance of an override.

With gasoline prices back near the $3 mark, and the threat of air pollution, including excess carbon dioxide, more dire than ever, one would like to think the federal government would be steering commuters toward public transportation. But there is a long-standing quirk in the federal tax code that does exactly the opposite - that gives preference to people who drive over those who ride energy-efficient, lower-polluting buses or trains. Here's how it works: Employers can offer parking as a tax-free benefit of up to $215 per month per worker.

OHIO MAVERICK George V. Voinovich is the Republican senator who put a speed bump on John R. Bolton's path to confirmation as U.N. ambassador. GOP plans to end filibusters on judicial nominations could be thwarted by a pair of moderate Republican senators from Maine. Meanwhile, Democratic centrist Ben Nelson of Nebraska has taken the lead in brokering a compromise. Rep. Christopher Shays, an often defiantly independent Republican from Connecticut, has been persuasive in urging his party to reject ethics maneuvers designed to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

WASHINGTON -- When word spread recently that Republican leaders might water down a big tax break for families with children, not a peep of protest was heard from the business lobbyists who scrutinize most tax changes with a microscope.Instead, it was the Christian Coalition that turned up the heat, firing off letters of protest to Senate Finance Committee Republicans.A day later, the plan vanished. "They weren't just a vocal advocate for that tax credit -- they were the principal sponsors," said Stephen Moore, an economist who attended key early GOP strategy sessions on the federal budget overhaul.

SADLY ENOUGH, Maryland profits from the tobacco business, collecting $197 million in per-pack taxes last year alone. Sadder still? The national tobacco settlement's $4 billion to Maryland plunges this state even more deeply into its cigarette tax addiction: The settlement is being paid for with price increases passed on by manufacturers to smokers. But let's not make matters worse. Don't sell the cigarettes seized from those who bought cheap in Virginia (where the tax is 2.5 cents per pack)

It has been reported that House Speaker John Boehner is backing a compromise on taxing those "rich" Americans who make over $1 million a year. Unfortunately, that threshold, as well as President Barack Obama's proposal to increase taxes on those making over $250,000 at the Clinton era tax rate, is not going to solve the long term deficit problem, especially while spending remains out of control as it has been during Mr. Obama's presidency....

Who are the Mike Milkens of Maryland?Who are the "Michael Milkens of Maryland?" Convicted felons? Savings and loan bandits? No, the Michael Milkens of Maryland," according to one House Democrat, are people who declare a capital gain on their state income tax form.The "Michael Milkens of Maryland" include citizens who have sold their homes to meet living expenses or cashed in an asset to pump money into their business. Republicans believe that the investments of those who have been frugal and farsighted enough to save and invest for their future are what make the American economy work and grow.

Metro Baltimore's most important business group says it will shift its focus to regional cooperation and "start talking about issues that aren't politically safe" such as municipal tax sharing and cross-boundary housing policies.The Greater Baltimore Committee's "primary focus" will be finding ways "for solving problems on a regional basis," GBC President Donald P. Hutchinson said yesterday. The switch promises to stoke the debate on what duties satellite counties owe to Baltimore.Founded in 1955 to spawn building projects in downtown Baltimore, the GBC has been regional in name but parochial in practice.