(WASHINGTON, April 18, 2008) -- Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, today released the following statement regarding the tax extenders package (S. 2886) introduced yesterday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles E. Grassley (R-IA):

“Independent Sector applauds Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles E. Grassley for introducing legislation (S.2886) that would extend the IRA Charitable Rollover and other charitable giving incentives, along with other expired and expiring tax incentives. Independent Sector also wholeheartedly supports the efforts of Chairman Baucus, which he reiterated Thursday on the Senate floor, to pay for this “extenders” package with offsets that can pass both the Senate and House and be signed by the President.

“The urgency of this bill cannot be overstated. Congress must act as soon as possible to restore the IRA Charitable Rollover and other giving incentives so that charities can receive the resources that enable them to provide vital services to the people and communities most in need. The resulting gifts from individual retirement accounts -- ranging from as little as $10 to the legal maximum of $100,000 -- have helped organizations build cancer centers, develop programs for counseling at-risk youth, support housing for homeless families, conserve wilderness areas, and provide art therapy for people with developmental disabilities. The gifts from older Americans generated through these tax incentives, which expired at the end of 2007, have had a direct and immediate impact in communities throughout the country and benefited people every day.”

For more information on the IRA Charitable Rollover, visit Independent Sector's page on the IRA rollover.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.