Charity begins at home

In the U.S., when you make a charitable donation, you can deduct the donated amount from your taxable income. So your donation is in effect less than the nominal amount.

In the U.K., when you make a charitable donation, you can fill out a form so that the charity can claim from the government the amount of taxes you paid on your donation. So your donation is in effect more than the nominal amount.

I wanted to donate 300 pounds to the British Red Cross for relief for the miserable refugees camped in Greece, Hungary, Madedonia, and Calais. When I filled out the form, it asked me if I’m a UK taxpayer. I’m not but David is, so he’s making the donation, which will turn the 300 pounds into 375 pounds.

So in the U.S. system, the government forgoes the taxes owed on your donation and YOU benefit. In Britain, the government forgoes the taxes owed on your donation and the CHARITY benefits. I think that’s brilliant. And I think it says a lot about the two different cultures. As the U.S. suffers mass shooting after mass shooting, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about individual rights vs. collective rights. I think the U.S. leans much more heavily in favour of individual rights and European cultures are more disposed toward collective rights. In a nutshell, that is why I want to live here.

P.S. I chose the British Red Cross for my donation based on an interview with a human rights professor who has worked on the front lines of humanitarian disasters around the world and has seen who gets the job done.
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