Do you think the wealthy actually give to charity out of the goodness of their heart or for the tax breaks?

Question

If I were a betting woman, I'd put my money on the tax breaks.

Answer 1

It's not a either/or answer.  There are shades of grey.

I would say that it does vary by person, putting people in a simple category such as 'wealthy' and then saying they all act the same is the same as saying all black people or all Jewish people act the same.

I've known and see all sorts of wealthy people (and again what level defines wealthy, look at the recently Obama/McCain definition) and they aren't cookie cutter.

So some give for altruistic reasons, some give for the tax breaks, and with many there is a bit of both.

Answer 2

How about both. I give a fair amount of dollars to charity. You can claim it is for tax breaks. However, I also give my time and expertise. I spend roughly 3 weeks a year of my own time doing charity work. Many Saturday mornings each year sorting and shipping medical goods for World medical relief. A week building and repairing homes with the church youth group. A week ar church camp as a volunteer. There is NO way you can claim all my volunteer work is for a tax break.

Answer 3

  Giving to charity is the same as paying taxes, so it makes sense that the wealthy give to charity rather than pay taxes.  Look at all the free publicity and good will gotten by giving to charity whereas know one will throw out accolades for simply paying taxes !

Answer 4

I have heard alot of republicans say that dems talking about giving to the poor but taxes show they don't give that much. I had to explain that I know alot of dems who don't care about keeping records of what they do. I also saw a question on here yesterday about why dems did help appalachian area people & again had to explain just because they don't know what people are doing doesn't mean they aren't doing it. I can give many more example of people thinking people are not doing anything just because they don't see it written on a tax form. The people I know who are worried about taxes are not always worried about people that much but we can never judge a whole group of people by some...I imagine if a person is as rich as John McCain doesn't care about anything but money or he wouldn't make so money in beer & we wouldn't have so many poor. I would never be as rich as him because I know I could help so many people with my money I would rather do that.

Answer 5

Neither... Tax Shelters are the more appropriate name...

They set up their "charities" as non-profit PACs and such... that way they can move their money around and escape campaign finance reform etc...

The wealthy have started more "charities" than what they have donated to...

The problem with Charity as opposed to Taxation is that people get to pick where the money goes... which is usually right back into their own selfish pockets...

Answer 6

Me too, minus the part about being a woman. ;-)

Answer 7

I give because I care for others, helping less fortunate is an obligation to me. Many donations I make are off the record and never claimed. If tax was the issue, there are many potential better ways to reduce taxes, I do those also.

Answer 8

i think it depends on the person. Why argue the intention though? Don't bite the hand that feeds you, right. As long as they do it, i dont care if they're secretly n***s.

Answer 9

More clueless posts from liberals.  The wealthy can find dozens of ways to hide income for tax purposes besides giving it away to charity for the paltry tax breaks they would recieve.  They could always do what the Kennedy's do and send their wealth offshore......

I wonder if the poor are really concerned as to the motives why people give to the charities that assist them.

Answer 10

Some do and some don't.  You can't just put all the so called wealthy in one group and say that they are all alike.

Answer 11

Except, some give more than they can get back in taxes so your argument lacks logic.

Example, Cheney donates much more to charity than he can claim.  

Answer 12

Does it really matter. The fact is they are giving money to needy people.  

Answer 13

my family is pretty wealthy, and we always give money out to animal shelters, and give out old cloths to charity. We dont do it for the tax breaks, only because there is no point to throw out the cloths when it can mean a lot of somebody else. We also buy new cloths and books and other toys and donate them. Not for any reason of tax breaks.  

Answer 14

its all tax breaks and only tax breaks. my neighbor is rather wealthy and i i asked him to donate to a charity and the first thing he said was "is this have tax breaks?".

Answer 15

Because I choose to be an optimistic person and believe in the good of humanity, I am opting for the "goodness of their heart" choice. I think most wealthy people are grateful for their blessings and want to give back. Maybe people like George Soros give for the tax breaks, but most others give because they feel blessed and want to help others.