Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1990-11-29

              THE
The Ohio Jewish Chronide
Serving Columbus and Central Ohio
Jewish Community for Over 60 Years
VOLUME 68
NUMBER 49
NOVEMBER 29,1990
12KISLEV5751
DEVOTED   TO   AMERICAN    AND   JEWISH   IDEALS
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Jewish BOOKFAIR
promises lecture
opportunities
page 2
Solidarity Mission set
for December 17-30
page 2
New Members' Class
named for Rosenberger
page 3
Why you and I must go
to Jerusalem now
page 4
Meir Kahane's
real legacy
page 4
New Foundation Funds
will benefit community
page 7
Discovery Seminar
to return to Columbus
page 10
In The Chronicle
At The JCC   '.   .. 24,25
Community  p..,., 6-12
Federation ,.''.'..... 22,23 ,
FrontPage , 2,3
Lifecycle  18
Marketplace ,'.,.., 21
NewGeneration 20
Synagogues'..'..'.,.: :...' :... 19
Viewpoint   , „  „... 4,5,
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THE TAXMAN COMETH
Charitable donations are answer
By Jackie Jacobs
We are all subject to income
taxes, gift taxes and estate
taxes. Our nation's tax laws,
however, do not tax gift transfers to qualified charitable, religious, educational, literary,
scientific and similar kinds of
organizations, known at
501(c)(3) organizations.
Such qualified charities can
receive gifts from donors,
which the donors can then
claim as charitable deduc-
- tions on their income tax returns. Gifts are defined as
cash or other property donated for which the donor receives nothing in return. To
the extent that a donor receives something in return,
■'. the deduction for the value of
the gift is reduced by the fair
market value of the item(s)
received.
Two years ago, Congressional inquiries were conducted to determine whether donors were properly reporting
deductible gifts. The IBS subsequently issued rulings that
put the onus on the donor to
prove that the property or
sums given to a charity were
true gifts for which nothing of
value was received in return.
The charity, in turn, must notify the donor of the value of
the items received. Accordingly, charities are required to
advise donors concerning any
portion of a payment to them
that is.non-deductible.
How do such deductibility
rules apply when goods or services are received in exchange for contributions? The
Donation Q & A
Q. I know a charitable contribution can generate a deduction that saves taxes. What else can it do for me?
A. Charitable contributions of appreciated assets can
allow you to avoid the capital gains taxes you otherwise
would incur if you sold the appreciated property. Caution:
Gifts of appreciated property can trigger the Alternative
Minimum Tax. Property structured, your charitable
donation can also provide you a long-term stream of income that may exceed what you otherwise could have
earned on the donated property.
Q. How do these charitable-giving strategies work?
A. Suppose you own stock with a cost basis of $1&,000
and a market value of $100,000. If you sell the stock, you
will have to pay a capital gains tax of nearly $28,000, leaving you only $72,000 to reinvest.
Now suppose you give the stock to a charitable remainder trust rather than selling it. The trust agrees to
pay you an annuity for a term of years (no more than 20)
or for ftm lifetime; after that, the remainder is to go to
charity. The trust is not subject to capital gains tax, so it
'   - •'":   '■';',  see DONATION Q& Apg. «
following example is illustrative:
If a donor purchases tickets
to a charity event, such as a
fund-raising dinner or theatrical performance, or receives
a book or tote bag in return for
a donation, the donor is entitled to a charitable contribution deduction only to the extent that the donation exceeds
the fair market value of the
tickets or the item(s) received. The charity should assist donors by establishing the
fair market value of items and
services exchanged for dona-,
tions. ^
There are, however, instances in which the goods or
services received by the donor
are insubstantial.' A personal
benefit may be claimed to be
insubstantial if:
• The fair market value of
all the benefits received is not
more than $50 or 2 percent of
the value of the contribution,
whichever is less; or
• The payment is $25 (adjusted for inflation), or more,
and the only benefits received
are token items, such as book-
see DONATIONS pg. 14