November 2, 2000 | Read Time: 1 minute
By GRANT WILLIAMS
Charities and their fund-raising advisers in Massachusetts are asking state residents to approve a ballot question on Election Day that would endorse a new state law creating a state income-tax deduction for charitable contributions.
Massachusetts has been one of only eight states that tax personal income but do not allow residents to deduct charitable gifts from state income taxes.
Earlier this year, supporters of a change in the law successfully circulated an initiative petition that got the issue on the November ballot. The Massachusetts Legislature then passed a statute that allows the charitable deduction for gifts beginning January 1, 2001, and extends the break to taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions.
Although the law is already on the books, the question remains on the ballot, and supporters of the initiative are urging voters to vote Yes so that state lawmakers are not encouraged to repeal the law.
The major sponsor of the Massachusetts initiative, the Committee to Encourage Charitable Giving, says that the statute is expected to generate an additional $220-million a year in charitable contributions and cost the state about $175-million in revenues.
