Obama’s Tax Plan Stirs Debate

To the Editor:

Anthony D. Romero’s letter (“Obama’s Tax Plan Must Be Opposed,” March 26) is dismaying. He concludes, “We need leadership … that unequivocally rejects a government plan that would undermine the critical work being carried out by charitable organizations.”

The Obama plan does not undermine the work so many hard-working nonprofits are doing. It simply means we may need to work a little harder to make our case.

Mr. Romero should take a few minutes away from his lamentations and read Peter Frumkin’s instructive column (“Appealing to a Donor’s Heart Matters in Tough Times,” March 26). Too many nonprofits have been doing such a poor job of presenting a compelling case for support for so long. It is time to stop relying on “branding” and return to the fund-raising fundamentals of a clear, concise, and compelling case for support — including an appeal to the heart — recommended by Mr. Frumkin.

Fred A. Matthews
Principal
Sound Advancement Strategies
Seattle

To the Editor:

Mr. Romero exemplifies the myopic self-interest at work among opponents of President Obama’s proposal to reduce the tax breaks for wealthy individuals who make financial contributions to tax-exempt organizations.

He does not try to justify the fact that wealthy donors now receive a larger tax deduction for each dollar of their gifts than less wealthy donors. He makes it clear that the only thing he cares about is the number of dollars received by the ACLU (an organization to which I make annual donations) and other nonprofit groups. Given his logic, we should provide full tax deductibility for all donations to tax-exempt organizations. In this way we would drastically reduce government programs and pump up the tax-exempt sector.

The president’s proposal makes good sense to me and I am glad to note that he would use the additional federal revenue to help finance comprehensive, national health-care reform.

Stephen S. Weiner
Piedmont, Calif.