Rep. David Wu (D-OR) and Bruce Ackerman propose in the Wall Street Journal on January 27 to revive the system of income tax credits for small political contributions, updated to create a fraud-proof and more user-friendly 21st century system.
"The place to begin is with a tax cut. Each American should get a refundable federal tax credit of $50 that they can use to make contributions to federal candidates during presidential years, and a suitably smaller sum during off-year federal elections."
The Citizen Involvement in Campaigns Act, introduced as H.R. 726 early in the 111th Congress by Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA), lays the groundwork. As Rep. Petri said upon introducing their bill,
The concept of empowering small donors is not a new idea. For example, from 1972 to 1986, the federal government offered a tax credit for small political contributions. This provided an incentive for average Americans to contribute to campaigns in small amounts while simultaneously encouraging politicians to solicit donations from a larger pool of contributors. Currently, six geographically and politically diverse states (Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Virginia, Arkansas, and Arizona) offer their own tax credits for political contributions. These state-level credits vary in many respects, but all share the same goal of encouraging average Americans to become more involved.
-- Bill Corbett
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