It’s Fix the Tax Code Friday! It’s also election time. Folks are throwing their hats into the ring left and right… literally. So today’s question is:
Should contributions to political candidates be tax deductible (psst, currently, they’re not!)?
Fix The Tax Code Friday: Political Contributions
I am very much against unlimited tax deduction by individuals and against any deduction by corporations. The same for public financing of candidates. Offering more incentives to use more money, other folks money will continue to drive the expense of being a candidate for public office. Level the playing field by limiting expense by the candidates. Too many American candidates, those qualified and those poorly qualified, spend recklessly because the money is available and they make a career of it. The British system restricts spending by candidates and the time of the campaign. Offering oneself for a specific public office two years before the election allows one to live off campaign funds, well before the election. I doubt US candidates have the desire to end the current generous system. Offering tax deductions and more public financing just makes the current system spiral out of control.
No tax break for choosing to support a political candidate. Maybe then the amount spent on campaigns will return to a reasonable limit. And who knows, instead of commercials…maybe the candidates will do something really wacky-meet their constituents and hold good old fashioned debates.