"Donate Car To Charity" Scheme May End

[Joseph Pappalardo]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "rogerkirk" <rogerkirk@mail.ttlc.net>
To: "BRI" <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2004 10:59 PM
Subject: Re: "Donate Car To Charity" Scheme May End


> IIRC, there was an issue with the "Helping Hands Of America"
> organization - which was alledgedly not a charity, but a
> used car dealer that used donated cars to seed their stock
> for free.  Once a car was sold, they donated a "portion" of
> the proceeds to a charity such as "Sacred Hearts" or others.
>
> Since the donation wasn't "really" to a charitable organization
> it would appear that this activity would cause the IRS to take
> a close look.

The donation WAS to a charitable organization.

I have a reciept from the organization.

The charity simply engages said car company to pick it up...and turn it to
cash.

Now...How much goes to the charity?  I believe it is more than the people
caling from your "Local Police and Fire departments" who are really located
in a boiler room in Cleveland.  In those cases the charity gets some
miniscule amount...and the guy calling from the police department isn't a
police officer.

> I've always thought this scheme sounded like a sham...a way to get rid of
> some worthless old clunker and be able to get a tax deduction for it.  If
> the car was any good, why would you want to give it away in the first
place?

1.) I want to help out the charity of my choice.

2.) To remove the headache of selling, listing, showing a car....never mind
the paperwork.  They really make it a breeze.
(I would rather do this than give it as a trade-in on a new car...because
the dealers will always give you next to nothing.)

Now, the charities never tell you an amount you can deduct.  That's up to
you and your CPA to determine.

If someone is cheating...I have no problem with the IRS going after them.

The sales tax is decided by the KBB no matter what the condition, right?

If someone uses the KBB, with milage allowances, etc...then there's nothing
wrong with it.

I believe the rule change is to stop people from claiming thousands of
dsollars without getting an independednt appraisal.

But for someone donating a car worth $1200....the car company will probably
strip it down...take this and that off of it and turn it into case.  (I know
I don't want to do that...and the Lupus society certainly doesn't want to do
that...so they engage a company to do it for them for a cost.)

Even if it doesn't have a radio ;-) in it....