Tax Incentives for Cross-Border Giving in an Era of Philanthropic Globalization: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The 21st century has ushered in an era of philanthropic globalization marked by a significant rise in international charitable giving. At the same time, cross-border philanthropy has raised legitimate fiscal and regulatory concerns for government. To understand how donor countries have responded to this changed global philanthropic landscape, we use comparative tax methodology to develop a spectrum of approaches to the tax treatment of cross-border giving and apply tax policy criteria to critically evaluate the divergent approaches of Australia and the Netherlands, located at opposing ends of the spectrum. Findings from the comparative analysis reveal that in the current global environment for philanthropy there is a strong case to be made for allowing tax deductible donations to cross borders.

Keywords: tax incentives, tax deduction, comparative tax methodology, cross-border donations, international philanthropy, charitable giving, philanthropic globalization

JEL Classification: K10, K30