tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post8792440248795958665..comments2024-03-14T19:35:14.456-04:00Comments on The Blunt Bean Counter: Charitable GivingThe Blunt Bean Counterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11358868550072516313noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-57686591601301445912011-01-26T00:16:35.973-05:002011-01-26T00:16:35.973-05:00"Damning graph", see, even criticism spr..."Damning graph", see, even criticism springs from religion. :)<br /><br />Andrew, I thank you for your eloquent and well researched comment.<br /><br />You however may be guilty of some selective cutting and pasting, as I said ' unless parents can ingrain giving as part of a child’s upbringing religious or otherwise".<br /><br />I think you missed the "or otherwise". As I noted in the blog, I can trace charitable giving down a family tree. I would suggest in many cases the influence of religion dissipates as you move down the family tree, yet the youngest member still contributes to charity. Why? The origin of many a family’s giving may have sprung from religion, but the culture of giving was nurtured down the tree despite the younger generation in many cases shunning religion.<br /><br />I know where your stats take you and how they support where you want to go. My concern is religious or otherwise, without the culture of giving, each generation will be less charitable.<br /><br />How much of Gates culture of giving came from Buffet and how much did Zuckebergs come from Gates? To me that is the "otherwise".<br /><br />There are some tremendous role models in Buffet Gates et al. However, I am concerned that spirit is not necessarily permeating the younger generation, but like I said in the blog, I may be way off.The Blunt Bean Counterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358868550072516313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-86444797875167015932011-01-25T20:22:54.697-05:002011-01-25T20:22:54.697-05:00Hey Mark,
I couldn't possibly read this witho...Hey Mark,<br /><br />I couldn't possibly read this without refuting it, so here goes...<br /><br />"charities are going to have more trouble going forward as [...] the younger generation seems to increasingly shun religious institutions [...] the concept of charity springs from religion"<br /><br />The last time I looked at the Forbes list of worldwide top donors (2009, I think), it was quite wholly secular. The two individuals you feel worthy of individually identifying as charitable models (Warren Buffett and Bill Gates) are publicly godless heathens (and they aren't motivated by tax credits either).<br /><br />Statistics Canada provides us with some relevant data (I'll use the free ones)...<br /><br />On religion:<br />http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2006001/c-g/4097582-eng.htm<br /><br />And donation demographics:<br />http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/famil104-eng.htm<br /><br />Both the short and long term trends are clear. The statistics show that the highest average donations, and the highest frequency of donations occur around the 40s. Comparing this to the most religious group surveyed (60+, 1985), these people are 100% more secular. Surprising? None of it.<br /><br />Let's not even analyze that religious people tend to make donations to religious institutions (which are tax-exempted all the same as useful organizations). Is there a church, mosque, or temple that does the comparable societal good of secular charities (e.g. The Gates' Foundation, The Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, Wikimedia, and ACLU)?<br /><br />Care to guess which group also has the "large allocation of donated funds to charity administration"?<br /><br />I'll leave you with this damning graph, which is the real crisis in the charitable market:<br />http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/71-542-x/2009001/c-g/ch1/c-g1.5-eng.htmtheskujhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11244192903228352082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-35251011619811135292011-01-25T08:55:48.102-05:002011-01-25T08:55:48.102-05:00Thanks for the confirmation Mark.Thanks for the confirmation Mark.Stevehttp://www.steveonline.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-84588828864665822602011-01-24T18:56:10.921-05:002011-01-24T18:56:10.921-05:00Hi Steve, yes you can save your donations for five...Hi Steve, yes you can save your donations for five years and then use them all at once. In response to your second question, the answer is also yes.You can transfer your donations to your wife or visa versa. In preparing tax returns we typically accumulate family donations and claim them all on only one of the spouses returns; that is unless the spouses look at their money as their own and they want to claim the donations they each made individually. However, that results in them paying more taxes then they would have if they combined the donations.The Blunt Bean Counterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358868550072516313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-82341166050469478822011-01-24T15:56:28.929-05:002011-01-24T15:56:28.929-05:00Thanks Mark - it does.
And did I read the tax ru...Thanks Mark - it does. <br /><br />And did I read the tax rules correctly that I can save up charitable donations up to 5 years and then use them all at once to maximize the larger tax credit when my donations exceed the $200 threshold? And can charitable donations credits be transferred? Ie, if my wife has $200 and I have $200 - can she transfer them to me so I claim $400 since I'm in a higher tax bracket?Stevehttp://www.steveonline.canoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-90850597957150954682011-01-21T14:43:14.074-05:002011-01-21T14:43:14.074-05:00Hi Steve:
The donation credit on the first $200 i...Hi Steve:<br /><br />The donation credit on the first $200 in Ontario is worth only 22.8%- so if you dontate $100 your credit/refund is $22.80 and if you donate $200 your credit/refund is $45.60. For every donation dollar over and above $200 you save 46.41% of those donations plus the $45.60 from the first $200 in donations.<br /><br />Thus, if you donated $500 as per above, your credit/refund will be almost $185 ($45.60 on first $200 and 46.41% of $300).<br /><br />I hope that clarifies your question.The Blunt Bean Counterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11358868550072516313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4402283548766807872.post-11858386453926624102011-01-21T11:55:08.036-05:002011-01-21T11:55:08.036-05:00Mark - can you clarify the following:
"So wh...Mark - can you clarify the following:<br /><br />"So what is the financial benefit of a charitable donation? Once you exceed the $200 minimum donation limit, each dollar saves you 46.4% in income tax in Ontario through the donation tax credit. So really, you are only out of pocket $54 for each donation."<br /><br />Does that mean if I donate $201 then it's as if I donated $200.46 and the government donated .54 cents . . . . and if I donated $500 then it;s as if I actually donated $368 ($200 + 46%) and the government donated $132 (54%) and in both cases I get the government portion coming back to me as a donation tax credit?Stevehttp://www.steveonline.canoreply@blogger.com