Good Samaritan Hunger Relief
Tax Incentives Act
A2H NETWORK CONNECTION
September 28, 2006 - Volume 2, Issue 38
President Bush recently signed into law a new tax incentive for the donation of food to charities as part of the Pension Reform Bill that will generate an estimated more than $250 million in new private sector food donations over the next 24 months. This represents a major victory for the America's Second Harvest Network, our donors and the people we serve.
For the first time in the history of the United States, all business entities - including farms, small businesses, and restaurants - will receive a tax incentive to help in the fight against hunger in their communities. Under previous tax law, only C corporations, generally larger companies, were eligible for the enhanced deduction for donations of food.
The new law means that through 2007, small businesses, farmers, ranchers and restaurateurs have a real incentive to give food for hunger relief and can deduct from their taxes the value of donated food equal to the basis of donated items plus one-half the fair market value, or two times the basis, whichever is less. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that more than $250 million in new food will be donated for food banks and other charities through this change. This is a great step forward to help ensure that our Network has enough food available to meet growing requests for assistance.