At least in the US, donations to political parties, political campaigns, political action committees, etc, are already not tax deductable (which I take is what you mean by “tax back”). In fact, the amount that a person can donate to such an entity is even limited. See https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/are-your-political-campaign-contributions-tax-deductible-11380/. In the US, tax deductible donations are for 501c3 organizations (named for the section of the internal revenue code in which they are described), and such organizations are already forbidden from engaging in partisan politics and severely limited in the amount of lobbying they can do.
The standard proposed here has broader implications than party politics. To pick two hypothetical organizations, the Tough On Crime Institute would be the opposite of the Criminal Justice Reform Association, so by this standard, neither should get tax back. My initial reaction is that I don’t want that result, I want both organizations out there making their cases stronger, not weaker. But I could be talked out of this.
I’m also not sure why the Against Unicorns Foundation wouldn’t be a legally valid charity. It might not be a very popular one, but an argument can certainly be made that destroying unicorns prevents them from suffering, and preventing animal suffering is generally regarded as good and specifically listed as a charitable purpose in section 501c3. I don’t think regulators would or should question the validity of that purpose. So by this standard, the Unicorn Conservation Society would also not get tax back? This doesn’t seem right.
At least in the US, donations to political parties, political campaigns, political action committees, etc, are already not tax deductable (which I take is what you mean by “tax back”).
Turns out it’s the same in the UK. That’s embarrassing! However I was just as much talking about political charities which aren’t technically a political party.
My initial reaction is that I don’t want that result, I want both organizations out there making their cases stronger, not weaker. But I could be talked out of this.
I think I agree with this insofar as political charities tend to work by disseminating the strongest argument for their case, and letting the correctest side win out. I think in practice that’s not what they’re doing—it’s more about how they can use the political system to achieve their aims, at which point I think it’s back to a prisoners dilemma.
I’m also not sure why the Against Unicorns Foundation wouldn’t be a legally valid charity. It might not be a very popular one, but an argument can certainly be made that destroying unicorns prevents them from suffering, and preventing animal suffering is generally regarded as good and specifically listed as a charitable purpose in section 501c3.
As I said, I think the thing to do is look at where the money was actually spent. If it was spent protecting a unicorn conservation area, I’m pretty certain destroying a unicorn conservation area would not be a valid charity.
However I think you make some great points! Definitely have to think about them.
At least in the US, donations to political parties, political campaigns, political action committees, etc, are already not tax deductable (which I take is what you mean by “tax back”). In fact, the amount that a person can donate to such an entity is even limited. See https://blog.turbotax.intuit.com/tax-deductions-and-credits-2/are-your-political-campaign-contributions-tax-deductible-11380/. In the US, tax deductible donations are for 501c3 organizations (named for the section of the internal revenue code in which they are described), and such organizations are already forbidden from engaging in partisan politics and severely limited in the amount of lobbying they can do.
The standard proposed here has broader implications than party politics. To pick two hypothetical organizations, the Tough On Crime Institute would be the opposite of the Criminal Justice Reform Association, so by this standard, neither should get tax back. My initial reaction is that I don’t want that result, I want both organizations out there making their cases stronger, not weaker. But I could be talked out of this.
I’m also not sure why the Against Unicorns Foundation wouldn’t be a legally valid charity. It might not be a very popular one, but an argument can certainly be made that destroying unicorns prevents them from suffering, and preventing animal suffering is generally regarded as good and specifically listed as a charitable purpose in section 501c3. I don’t think regulators would or should question the validity of that purpose. So by this standard, the Unicorn Conservation Society would also not get tax back? This doesn’t seem right.
Turns out it’s the same in the UK. That’s embarrassing! However I was just as much talking about political charities which aren’t technically a political party.
I think I agree with this insofar as political charities tend to work by disseminating the strongest argument for their case, and letting the correctest side win out. I think in practice that’s not what they’re doing—it’s more about how they can use the political system to achieve their aims, at which point I think it’s back to a prisoners dilemma.
As I said, I think the thing to do is look at where the money was actually spent. If it was spent protecting a unicorn conservation area, I’m pretty certain destroying a unicorn conservation area would not be a valid charity.
However I think you make some great points! Definitely have to think about them.