Congress passes bill allowing for 2004 deduction of donation to tsunami relief

We stingy Americans have lawmakers who create incentives for us to make charitable contributions by way of deductions from taxable income. For someone in a high-income-tax state such as California, this could mean that a net cash outflow of $265 on the part of taxpayer generates $500 of donation to charity: i.e., $500 * (0.35 + 0.093) = $235.

Congress has just passed HR 241, which allows taxpayers making tsunami-aid contributions in January to deduct those donations from their taxable income for 2004. I do hope that this will further encourage people to give toward the relief effort.