Policy Alert: Final Tax Bill

On Friday, December 15, the House and Senate Conference Committee released their finalized Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bill. This legislation may prove prohibitive to nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. The House of Representatives hopes to vote on this bill as early as tomorrow, December 19, with a vote in the Senate immediately following.

Included in the bill:
Reducing Incentives for Charitable Giving
Along with the elimination of the universal deduction for charitable giving, this legislation would nearly double the standard deduction, which means that only 6% of the population would itemize their deductions- down from the current percentage of almost 30%. This reduction in itemization could mean a loss between $12 million and $20 billion in charitable giving.

Excise Tax for Nonprofit Colleges and Universities
Under this new legislation, nonprofit colleges and universities with assets of at least $500,000 per full-time student, more than 500 full-time students and more than 50% of their students in the United States, would pay a new 1.4% excise tax on net investment income.

Not included in the bill:
Johnson Amendment
Luckily, this current legislation does not repeal or change the rules garnering the Johnson Amendment in any way. For over sixty years, the Johnson Amendment has protected nonprofits, houses of worship, and foundations from the pressures and interference of partisan politics, so they can freely serve their communities.

Voice Your Concern
If you wish to contact your Congressional delegation and voice your concern, we have included below the contact information for our area's Representatives and Senators.

Missouri
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver: (202) 225-4535
    Twitter: @RepCleaver
Congressman Sam Graves: (202) 225-7041
    Twitter: @RepSamGraves
Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler: (202) 225-2876
    Twitter: @RepHartzler
Senator Clair McCaskill: (202) 224-6154
    Twitter: @clairecmc
Senator Roy Blunt: (202) 224-5721
    Twitter: @RoyBlunt

Kansas
Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins: (202) 225-6601
    Twitter: @RepLynnJenkins
Congressman Kevin Yoder: (202) 225-2865
    Twitter: @RepKevinYoder
Senator Jerry Moran: (202) 224-6521
    Twitter: @JerryMoran
Senator Pat Roberts (202) 224-4774
    Twitter: @SenPatRoberts

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