Opinion: End Tax ‘Subsidy’ for Gifts to Big-Time College Sports

The federal government should eliminate the tax deduction for donations to major college sports programs that enable wealthy boosters to obtain coveted football- and basketball-game tickets and other perks, according to an opinion article in The Washington Post.

Booster clubs whose main purpose is to solicit big gifts play a major role in financing athletics at universities such as Florida, Ohio State, and Stanford, writes Charles Clotfelter, a professor of public policy at Duke University and author of a forthcoming book on college sports.

Mr. Clotfelter noted that leading college athletics programs collected more than a billion dollars in tax-free donations in 2008, adding, “With the nation facing gigantic federal deficits for years to come, isn’t it time for major college sports programs to get by without this subsidy?”