It's been a great week on Capitol Hill for the arts!

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed  a bill 277-130 to make permanent a key tax incentive for charitable giving, the IRA Charitable Rollover. Making this provision permanent has been a key legislative goal of Americans for the Arts for the last decade, as the current cycle of expiration and reinstatement has left many donors unable to maximize their support for charitable work. 

Americans for the Arts, Americans for the Arts Action Fund, and over 850 organizations sent a letter supporting the permanent renewal of these charitable tax provisions. Today during debate, U.S. House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) referenced the letter in his floor statement. A lead sponsor of stand-alone legislation to make the IRA Charitable Rollover permanent, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), discussed the impact of the provision in his district.  

Specifically, two of these provisions will help nonprofit arts organizations raise private donations while offering individual taxpayers enhanced tax deductions. It’s a win-win situation.  If these provisions also get passed by the Senate and signed into law by the President, they would do the following:

·        Extend through April 15 the deadline for claiming charitable donations on the previous year's tax filing.

·        Encourage taxpayers 70.5 years of age or older to make a charitable donation by designating a charity to receive their automatic IRA distributions directly, instead of themselves, which would otherwise have been subject to income tax.

Please help us continue this important work by becoming an official member of the Arts Action Fund. If you are not already a member, you can play your part by joining the Arts Action Fund today—it's free and easy to join.