Because you’re giving them money that they then donate and claim as their own. It’s a way to get around actually donating money from their profits, while making it look like they’re donating a ton for the tax write off.
A friend in the field had told me that they preemptively make donations to offset their taxes. Let say it’s 1million dollars. they put up 1 million dollars of their own money, then they gather donations at the till towards this charity to pay themselves back for the money they spent.
Why would they bother? It costs them next to nothing to stick an ad on the screen. But matching donations would be far more expensive.
Besides “matching donations” has always been a scam. These agreements inevitably amount to “Person/Org X agrees to donate up to $X in matching funds”. But $X is so small that its trivial to hit. And I’ve never heard of someone failing to get the whole amount regardless of the donation rate. It’s just an excuse for the folks running the donation drive to scream “PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Your refusal to donate an extra $1 is costing us $10!!! Why are you being so stingy!!!”
Since you asked, the tax write off stuff is basically a myth. If you donate, let’s say $20, then they have to mark down $20 of additional income, raising their tax burden by $20 x 21% (federal, plus whatever state tax there is). Then, when they hand over the money to the charity, they get to take a $20 deduction (not a credit) which means their tax burden is lowered by $20 x 21% (again plus any state tax). So comes out even in the end. The deduction basically says, hey, remember the $20 I put down as income? Don’t tax me on that because I used it for a tax-exempt purpose. They report it as income, then report the donation. Nothing fishy there.
However, depending on how long they hold onto that money, it’s possible to use the money to make other money, like investing it or even just sticking it in a savings account where it would get a little interest. And with enough donations, that might add up.
Why do they never offer to match donations? I’d probably consider it if they did.
Because you’re giving them money that they then donate and claim as their own. It’s a way to get around actually donating money from their profits, while making it look like they’re donating a ton for the tax write off.
That’s not how it works, at all. Businesses can’t claim donations they collect on behalf of a charity as a deduction.
They can lie and misreport. And if nobody in the state/federal bureaucracy follow up, they get away with it.
A friend in the field had told me that they preemptively make donations to offset their taxes. Let say it’s 1million dollars. they put up 1 million dollars of their own money, then they gather donations at the till towards this charity to pay themselves back for the money they spent.
Again just what I’ve heard.
Your friend is wrong, or the company he works for is committing fraud.
Well yes, it’s a corporation.
I had a friend who once told me his brother discovered Alaska while riding in a hot air balloon. I wonder if we have the same friend.
“Had a friend at a business report that the business was casually doing fraud to lower their tax liability.”
“Oh yeah? Well I had a friend who reported he is a talking monkey who lives in Mars.”
“Damn, both of these stories sound equally far-fetched and unbelievable.”
Possibly, is his name Jeff?
Why would they bother? It costs them next to nothing to stick an ad on the screen. But matching donations would be far more expensive.
Besides “matching donations” has always been a scam. These agreements inevitably amount to “Person/Org X agrees to donate up to $X in matching funds”. But $X is so small that its trivial to hit. And I’ve never heard of someone failing to get the whole amount regardless of the donation rate. It’s just an excuse for the folks running the donation drive to scream “PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! Your refusal to donate an extra $1 is costing us $10!!! Why are you being so stingy!!!”
Someone correct me, but I understood that donations serve as a tax write-off.
So they don’t care about the donations as much as their own savings.
Since you asked, the tax write off stuff is basically a myth. If you donate, let’s say $20, then they have to mark down $20 of additional income, raising their tax burden by $20 x 21% (federal, plus whatever state tax there is). Then, when they hand over the money to the charity, they get to take a $20 deduction (not a credit) which means their tax burden is lowered by $20 x 21% (again plus any state tax). So comes out even in the end. The deduction basically says, hey, remember the $20 I put down as income? Don’t tax me on that because I used it for a tax-exempt purpose. They report it as income, then report the donation. Nothing fishy there.
However, depending on how long they hold onto that money, it’s possible to use the money to make other money, like investing it or even just sticking it in a savings account where it would get a little interest. And with enough donations, that might add up.