Proposed legislation matches new federal taxes benefits
Madison – Rep. Joy Goeben (R-Hobart) introduced legislation today, asking her legislative colleagues to join her supporting updating WI tax code to reflect recent federal changes, by allowing taxpayers who take the standard deduction to still receive a modest benefit for their donations.
“When filing personal income taxes, most people simply check the box for the standard deduction as in most cases it outweighs any tax benefit in listing out itemized deductions. Often, Wisconsin taxpayers are prevented from receiving any tax benefit for their charitable giving. When the standard deduction was increased, it simplified taxes but also unintentionally discouraged individual acts of generosity, since fewer people itemized and could claim charitable deductions,” shared Rep. Goeben.
Recently, the federal government has allowed individual filers to subtract charitable contributions in addition to the standard deduction, thus incentivizing charitable giving to non-profit and religious organizations. Under the bill, the subtraction is limited to $1,000, which is increased to $2,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return. The legislation introduced for co-sponsorship today would match federal code in creating a tax benefit for Wisconsin filers.
