Both political parties have finally agreed that revenues need to be raised, and the budget cannot be balanced by cuts alone. However, there are two sticking points: The Democrats want to see an even balance between increased revenue and deductions in spending, while the Republicans want to see less increases in revenue and greater cuts in spending. On the revenue front alone, Republicans are also still insisting that tax rates on the wealthy need not increase. So, the only way for revenue to increase- and for the rates to stay the same- is to limit the amount of deductions one can claim. The three major categories of deductions are: mortgage payments and interest, state & local deductions, and charitable contributions. Deductions for charitable contributions are the focal point of this debate. Download Now

