The Everyday Philanthropist Act seeks to empower everyday, working Americans by implementing a Flexible Giving Account (FGA). An FGA is a pre-tax payroll deduction for employee giving. Employees would set up an FGA through their employer, deposit a portion of their paycheck in the account to be donated to the charity of their choice, and immediately lower their taxable income.
Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law, tax experts are anticipating a reduction in charitable giving by $16-$24 billion per year because an estimated 27 million more U.S. taxpayers will benefit from taking the standard deduction. An FGA would allow those who take the standard deduction, and don’t usually see tax benefits for their charitable donations, to finally do so. This would dramatically increase America’s charitable donations and allow charities to more effectively impact the communities they serve.
Our current tax code only encourages taxpayers at a certain income level to give back. An FGA would allow taxpayers who don’t itemize their tax deductions to receive tax incentives for their generosity. We believe all working Americans, regardless of income level, should feel empowered to give back!
71% of surveyed employees prefer to work for a socially responsible company. FGAs would allow businesses to enhance their CSR efforts, empower their employees to give back, and lower their payroll taxes.