TY  - JOUR
AU  - Clotfelter,Charles T.
AU  - Feenberg,Daniel R.
TI  - Is There A Regional Bias in Federal Tax Subsidy Rates for Giving?
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 2564
PY  - 1991
Y2  - February 1991
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2564
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w2564.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Charles T. Clotfelter
Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Box 90245 Duke University
Durham, NC 27708
Tel: 919/613-7361
E-Mail: charles.clotfelter@duke.edu

Daniel R. Feenberg
National Bureau of Economic Research
1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: 617/588-0343
Fax: 617/868-2742
E-Mail: feenberg@nber.org
AB  - This study examines regional variation in average subsidy rates for charitable donations. Because the tax incentive for contributions is embodied in an itemized deduction, the subsidy rate for an individual depends on the taxpayer's itemization status and marginal tax rate. It is well know that this subsidy rate rises with income. On a regional level, one would expect that subsidy rates would be higher in wealthier regions. What is not clear is the extent of such variation or whether subsidy rates vary systematically independent of income. In order to examine the various sources of variation, we decompse subsidy rates. We find significant variation in subsidy rates independent of income, in what appears to be an unintended regional bias in the federal policy toward charitable giving. If most contributions remain in the state or region of the donor, this bias will tend to affect the regional development of the nonprofit sector.
ER  -