Tax Deductions are a HUGE form of welfare, and the richest people are getting the most welfare

[LittleBlue]

114. Here is the way I think about it

Forget about what money is going where. Whether it goes to the government or to charities, the money should be used to benefit society.

Most taxpayers who take deductions pay around 20%-35%. So (at 20%) for a cost of only $200, the government encourages a donation of $1000. This makes it a net societal benefit of $800, or a 400% return on the cost. And while not every donation is made for the purposes of avoiding taxation, many donations are given despite the taxpayers later deciding to take the standard deduction, where the taxpayers can't even use the charitable deduction but gave with the thought that they would.

It really does benefit society to encourage donations. We end up with a much greater benefit than the cost. If those charities didn't exist, their services might have to be provided by the government anyway.