Tax bills could cut deep into Idaho nonprofits

Idaho nonprofits and charities could suffer if Congress approves the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” in its current form.

In a statement Monday, the Idaho Nonprofit Center said both the House and Senate versions raise concerns. The group said more than 87 percent of Idaho’s nonprofits will receive significant cuts in their funding.

According to the center, those include “injecting politics into the work of nonprofits, imposition of new taxes on tax-exempt organizations to pay for tax cuts, and increasing the deficit to such a point that federal, state, and local governments could be adversely affected for more than a generation.”

“H.R. 1, as currently written in both the House and Senate, would be devastating for Idaho’s communities,” said Amy Little, CEO of the Idaho Nonprofit Center. “Nonprofits, from health clinics to social services, will receive cuts as a result of this legislation while demand for these services will undoubtedly increase. At the same time, giving has the potential to sharply decrease because of the curtailing of the charitable deduction. Nonprofits may also find it challenging to keep the public’s trust if they are pressured to endorse one candidate for office over another instead of focusing on their missions.”

Little said the expected cuts in funding could leave many of the state’s most vulnerable citizens without the support they need.

“Not only are we going to see a sharp decrease in federal funding for mission fulfillment, but now nonprofits will struggle to raise funds to make up the difference without the charitable giving incentive,” said Little.

Nationwide, research by Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy estimates a potential loss of at least $13 billion in charitable giving.

The National Council of Nonprofits has produced a comparison of the House and Senate tax bills. You can see their study here.