Lawmaker Fed Up With Tax Donations

Virginia's 2007 tax forms have 25 checkoffs, but a charity can't stay on the list unless it gets at least $10,000 in contributions for the previous three years.

In New York, the practice started in 1983, when the Legislature created a box allowing taxpayers to make a donation to the Return a Gift to Wildlife fund by having the amount subtracted from their return. Between 1984 and 1987, more than 300,000 taxpayers donated to the fund each year, bringing in between $1.6 million and $1.7 million to the cause annually.

In 2007, only 37,117 people donated to the cause, bringing in $475,763.

The difference is, since 1997, lawmakers added six more charities to the list, seemingly pitting causes against each other.

"They've taken money away from one very good cause, spread it all across many and I think most people when they see them, they just glaze over and skip all of them," said Calhoun.

Calhoun said she supports all the charities involved, but maintains it is not the right way to raise funds. Adding causes wastes paper and money, takes funds from other charities and adds more confusion, she said.

New York's Assembly has 11 bills in committee that would create new charity checkoffs, and the Senate has 12. California also has four bills for new checkoff contributions, but all of them are stuck in committee, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures.

One of the checkoff beneficiaries in New York is the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center. A spokesman said he recognized the predicament.

"It could be that all the charities that are seeking support are perhaps affecting all the other ones too," said Sandy Caligiore, a spokesman for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which operates the training center. "Not to say one is more qualified or better than another, but we are just trying to do what we can within our mission."

___