Charitable Giving in Life and at Death

Joulfaian, David

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Charitable Giving in Life and at Death

Rethinking Estate and Gift Taxation, pp. 350-374, 2001

29 Pages Posted: 2 Jun 2006

See all articles by David Joulfaian

David Joulfaian

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Office of Tax Analysis (OTA); Georgetown University - Department of Economics

Abstract

This paper examines the pattern of charitable giving during life and at death. It employs a 10-year panel data of income tax returns and their associated estate tax returns. The income tax returns provide information on charitable contributions while the estate tax returns provide information on charitable bequests. The findings suggest a strong preference for charitable bequests over lifetime contributions in the case of the very wealthy. In contrast, contributions are the preferred mode of transfers for the less wealthy.

Keywords: Charitable Gift, Bequests, Estate and Income Taxes

JEL Classification: D19, H24, H31

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Joulfaian, David, Charitable Giving in Life and at Death. Rethinking Estate and Gift Taxation, pp. 350-374, 2001 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=905937