-National solidarity could melt like snow in the sun. As parliamentarians decide on the tax status of these donations, Nice-Premium presents the latest study conducted by the Observatory of the Fondation de France “Funds and Foundations in France from 2001 to 2009,” which shows a significant increase in the progressive interest of the social body in philanthropy, particularly in foundations, both in terms of financial commitment and the number of participants.
Between 2005 and 2010, the number of foundations increased from 1,254 to 1,771, not including the creation of more than 400 endowment funds; commitments rising from 3.7 billion euros in 2005 to 4.9 billion euros in 2009.
STUDY SUMMARY
This five-year evolution was made possible thanks to an international environment that fosters a positive discourse on the engagement of patrons: the Bill Gates effect.
In France, donors are less inclined to hide when they give significant sums; they attach real value to doing so and expressing it. But this environment alone would not have sufficed.
Strong state support, through the granting of generous tax deductions in favor of causes of general interest, gives our country one of the most favorable tax deduction schemes in the world.
However, the changes to the wealth tax (ISF) discussed in recent weeks threaten this growth.
Without taking a stance on whether or not this system should be modified, the French Foundation Center notes that last year, over 80 million euros were raised thanks to the TEPA law, which allows deduction of up to 50,000 euros from one’s ISF.
At a time when some public funding is decreasing, these sums have made it possible to support hundreds of projects, primarily in the social sector to address the growing needs of disadvantaged people, but also in research, culture, and the environment.
They have also allowed for engagement in the development of new scientific or university cooperation foundations created at the state’s initiative.
SOLIDARITY
The French Foundation Center does not consider the granting of a tax measure to be a permanent right, but on the other hand, it does not believe that measures supporting the actions of foundations fall under the category of tax loopholes.
Indeed, those who give do not expect a return and even give more than their initial tax, unlike the SME system, which carries the hope of a return on investment.
Meanwhile, the foundations that receive respond to the needs on the ground, as expressed by associations seeking increasingly difficult-to-find funding.
The new formula of the ISF, literally “wealth solidarity tax,” is aimed at the wealthiest taxpayers.
It seems important to us to maintain the momentum of individual commitment to the general interest observed in recent years, on which many actors rely through the foundations that support them.
