- 19 - deductible as unreimbursed expenditures incurred incident to his rendition of charitable services. The phrase "or for the use of" was added after the word "to" in section 170(c) by Congress to allow a deduction for gifts made in trust for a charitable organization or under a similar legal arrangement. Davis v. United States, 495 U.S. 472, 485 (1990). None of petitioner's expenditures were made in trust for a charitable organization or under a similar arrangement. Thus, for petitioner to prevail on his first argument, the expenditures must have been made "to" a charitable organization. In order for a payment to be considered as made "to" a charity, the charity must have control over the funds donated. Davenport v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1975-369. However, a donor's assertion that the charity would have spent the funds in the same manner does not vest the charity with control; the charity must have the ability to choose how the funds are spent. Id. In this regard, "Charity begins where certainty in beneficiaries ends". Thomason v. Commissioner, 2 T.C. 441, 443 (1943). Petitioner, rather than the charitable organizations, controlled the disposition of the funds expended for the meals of others, the limousine, and the AHEPA conference registration fees. Further, none of these expenditures were made at the request of any of the charitable organizations. Therefore, thePage: Previous 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011