James Wittenbach Quotations

Deloitte's National Tax Office monitors tax proposals and tax legislation on a daily basis. They work very closely with policy makers on Capital Hill, ... The hope is that following Dan and Katie's presentation, the tax policy professionals at Deloitte will carry the proposal to Capital Hill where members of the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee will get a chance to consider it.

For example, a taxpayer in the 25 percent marginal tax bracket would save $250 in taxes by making a $1,000 contribution. However, as Dan explained, although the federal government will lose $250 in tax revenue there is $1,000 going to benefit hurricane victims that the government doesn't have to spend. Put differently - the taxpayer, the federal government and the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita all win.

Following their presentation I asked Dan Kelly if he would be willing to make a power point presentation on his tax proposal. When Dan was finished both Jim and Scott were very impressed.

Dan's plan is unique in that it provides taxpayers who do not currently itemize their deductions a $1,000 deduction for contributions to charitable organizations that help the victims of Katrina and Rita. Seventy percent of taxpayers would be entitled to their regular standard deduction plus the amount they contributed to organizations that assist hurricane victims.

The first day of class this fall, I broke the students into teams of five and asked them to provide me with four or five tax credits that are currently not in the Internal Revenue Code but would be excellent additions. I ask each group to not only come up with new tax credits, but explain the social, economic or political reason for why the tax credit should be enacted by Congress.

All of the students in the M.S. in Accountancy class are sending Dan's proposal to their Senators and Representatives.