Donald Hits Charities and Churches
Introduction. As we gear up for another April 15 to pay our taxes while illegal non-taxpayers get loaded Debit cards from legal taxpayers and small business cheats are “forgiven” for Billions in Covid monopoly money1 it is good to remember why nonprofits and Churches are dying a slow death (and it’s not all from more non-believers).
This article will not go into the more visible disasters of Trump’s own creation like empowering the AI fueled Surveillance State and Operation Warp Speed which, regardless of what DJT says, has and continues to be the main reason for excess deaths ranging from 10-15% annually worldwide.
And, no Mr. Trump. You have not “saved” billions of lives. Maybe killed a few million or billion. But saved? This is about something ignored amongst the MAGAs. And, like so much happening all around us, has far-reaching consequences on the Long March to nowhere:
You are likely in the 90% that will not get a tax break for any of your donations to charitable causes like Churches, local food banks and community help organizations. And, the guy next door who never donates to help others has been incentivized by Trump to do so.
The Hit
In Trump’s first year in office he did something barely noticed and with little pushback. In December 2017, Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law, representing the most significant tax code overhaul in over three decades.
The changes were designed by Steve Mnuchin (Treasury Secretary) and approved by President Trump. Mnuchin’s goal was to slowly eliminate itemized deductions. It has been a resounding success and nobody seems to be concerned with the price we paid for making life easier for the surveillance state.
Trump did this with a simple ploy – raise the standard deduction to such a level that nobody gets over the fence to get a charitable deduction. The hurdle is so high that 90% of Americans now take the standard deduction.
As a result of the TCJA, you need to have more than the standard deduction noted below to get a break. And, as if 90% of taxpayers that don’t itemize isn’t quite enough, they want to push that number even higher for 2026 tax year:
It gets worse with even higher deductions (and rates) in 2026.
Key Changes Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA):
Starting in 2026, non-itemizers can claim a charitable deduction of up to $1,000 for single filers and $2,000 for married couples filing jointly.
For itemizers, a new floor of 0.5% of AGI will apply, meaning only contributions exceeding this threshold will be deductible.
A ridiculously low $1000 maximum deduction to charities for individuals that don’t itemize (i.e. members of the 90%) for 2026 is supposed to appease dying charities, but it is just another bone throwing exercise to placate the middle class. This year, nada for non itemizers, which is almost everybody.
Prior to Trump’s tax law change, nearly 1/3 of Americans itemized and took advantage of charitable deductions. After the IRS rule change of the Trump Administration, the itemizers dropped by more than 70% to around 10% (all income groups). Some people think that the itemizers will drop to only 5% of American taxpayers in just a few years.
Situation Report. Data from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) shows that the Trump/Mnuchin policy change led to a $252 billion reduction in itemized charitable contributions between 2018 and 2021. Moreover, the Association of Fundraising Professionals found that small-gift donors are vanishing, raising concerns about the future of charitable giving. This has not let up.
Individual Giving Has Plummeted
Charitable contributions have declined substantially.
2021: Individual giving totaled $439.11 billion (inflation-adjusted).
2022: Donations dropped to $386.76 billion—a $52.35 billion decline.
2023: Giving declined further to $374.40 billion, marking a total drop of $64.7 billion from 2021.
What’s taking up some of the massive slack? Liberal and Leftist giving to causes that are not exactly what Trump’s supporters have in mind.
Leftist Charities Grow
The wealthy got much wealthier in the last few years because of the illegal, rigged Stock Market financed with Covid money. Most of the wealth transfer has been to Liberals (mainly management at Big Tech companies, aka the “Maleveolent 7”). The charities they contribute to may not be in the best interest of America. They like charities devoted to Transgenderism, Climate Change and Black Lives and all that.
As for those charities that aren’t WOKE? Well, if they are to remain financially viable, they must move to the Left to keep getting the dough.
As I have said many times before, the Left play Chess and we are at still at our Checkers game.
It remains a long standing fact about Americans that most don’t contribute to charity solely or even primarily for a tax deduction. We are truly unique in the world on that front, especially Evangelicals in the South. Americans contribute 7X more than the average European. But it has had an effect on even these people, hit hard by Covid nonsense, unreported inflation and a debt fueled economy where everything is on the card.
Trump’s tax law will likely continue to be a net negative for churches and other charities unless something is done to change our tax code.
The Fix is In?
The IRS Fix is killing already faltering Churches and good nonprofit organizations whose activities will be replaced by an ever more powerful government.
As a result of yet one more Trump Deep State led debacle, if you are the typical American, you are now in the 90% that filed without getting credit for charitable contributions to your Church (tithing) or to other good non-profits doing things that the Government should not do but will be doing more and more.
I am at the end of my patience with MAGAs that will admit to hating this sort of thing, but still support the man. They continue to believe he is smarter than everyone else and that all of his anti-campaign screw-ups are really planned that way and are just “The Art of the Deal” so that in reality, somehow, someway everything will be OK.
Well, this situation proves everything is not OK when Zionists like Mnuchin had his ear and nobody in Congress on either side take issue with the results - Billions are disappearing from Charities.
This tax law change has lead to devastating consequences that can economically destroy already weakened faith based institutions - while at the same time strengthening an ever more powerful Government that will step in the gap. They will do what the bankrupted churches and non-profit organizations used to do. Maybe even get your vote for doing so.
It’s a basic tenet of Marxism to have only one God and that one God you shall trust is not the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. It’s not even Buddha or Muhammad. It’s the Government.
But Why?
These rules were developed under the guise of helping the IRS so they would not have to be bothered sifting through all those itemized donations. Oh, and with the side benefit of speeding up the demise of faith based institutions (Christian Organizations are #1) that in many ways compete directly with a tyrannical Government.
You see, people taking legitimate donations must be reviewed and verified. That might interfere with the more important IRS work of targeting political enemies and scrutinizing small business.
So, with all the backlog because of the insanity of the United States tax laws, IRS staff went on long term paid Covid vacations and then turned off the phone and pushed legislation under guise of a tax cut to kill faith based organizations already hurting.
It’s hard to fathom how Trump could miss the ulterior motives of Mnuchin and the Deep State. But on this one, maybe the most far-reaching Deep State success other than AI and Warp Speed, I believe he did.
It’s just one of the many little steps over a Long March that brings in Communism instead of “MAGA”.
What to Do?
When you get a money request from a faith based or good nonprofit organizations in the mail, instead of or in lieu of just sending the cash, add a note to educate them about why their donations have taken a hit since 2018.
Most importantly, tell them to contact their Congressman to support the Charitable Tax Act. If passed, this will allow up to 1/3 of eligible charitable deductions for non itemizers who can also keep the standard deduction.
Until this egregious Trump tax law is changed, keep giving, especially to your Churches and other legitimate organizations. We need to encourage people through the tax code to donate to good conservative causes, not put them out of business.
Sic Semper Tyrannis
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Only 5% of Covid fraud cases have been adjudicated with the vast majority either “forgiven” or not pursued, same result. Our Government is nearly without any moral authority to collect taxes from the public until the majority of tax thieves have been indicted and punished