IMO, a great many problems would be avoid by removing the charitable giving tax break. It not only shifts the Tax burden from the wealthy to middle class it also subsides the agenda of anyone that can afford to jump though some hoops.<p>Not to mention all kinds of corruption where charity rents private land or uses another company to _. Or charity A takes X% off the top and hand it to charity B who takes Y% off the top.
Sadly, the not for profit sector has become a mechanism to avoid paying taxes rather than groups dedicated towards actual charity. That's beyond some of the salaries that directors of these organizations are making.
For contributors to these funds, am I right in thinking that any tax avoided just goes into the charitable fund pot - no contributors are dodging tax that they get to keep by misusing these things? Any money that comes out of the fund has to go to charity.<p>Clearly, the financial industry is making money off these products, but the article makes it sound like people are misusing these things to pocket avoided tax.
This article is just scaremongering at the idea that dirty "profit seeking" banks would have anything to do with charity, which should be the domain of those of pure heart. But happens when you give money to a charity or endowment? If they don't need it right away, they invest it with a bank!