Under legislation just passed by Congress, taxpayers who make donations for the Haiti relief effort during 2010 would be able to deduct those donations on their 2009 tax returns which are due to be filed by April 15, 2010. The obvious purpose of the legislation is to encourage donations by allowing taxpayers an immediate tax benefit rather than having to wait an entire year to deduct these contributions on their 2010 returns.
As an aside, the United States suffers more than its share of criticism at the hands of other countries when it comes to some of our international policies. However, the United States is also the most generous and giving nation on the planet, and it will be interesting to see whether other countries take similar steps to encourage and subsidize such charity. We can be proud of the fact that America is almost always the first one on the scene when the chips are really down.
– BBC&B