Fate of Charitable Deduction Still Unclear in Debt-Ceiling Talks

Fund raisers may have seen a sign of hope when Speaker of the House John Boehner issued a statement on Saturday that he would not pursue a debt-reduction agreement that includes tax increases.

Odds are that opposition to increasing taxes would include the president’s proposal to limit charitable deductions for wealthy Americans. Last week many nonprofit leaders were worried that such a measure could be included as part of the weekend negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling.

A spokesman for Sen. Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona, who is in the negotiations, said that Sen. Kyl does not believe that increasing taxes, “which also means doing away with the itemized deduction for charitable contributions,” should be a part of any debt package.