California Arts Council Loses Chance to Raise Money via Tax Returns
Submitted by Steve on January 8, 2013
From Mike Boehm for the Los Angeles Times:
A feature allowing California taxpayers to use their income tax returns to make donations toward arts programs will disappear in 2013. Forms for the 2010 and 2011 tax years had a checkoff box for the California Arts Council as one of 18 options for targeted giving to various state-funded causes. But it won't be an option any longer.
The state law that added the grant-making Arts Council to the mix for the two years specified that the box would vanish if the option didn't bring in at least $250,000 from tax returns filed for the 2011 tax year.
Through the end of November, the yield was $164,330 chipped in by 15,940 taxpayers, according to the Franchise Tax Board's running, month-by-month tally of taxpayers' “voluntary contributions.” That's $93 ahead of last year's pace, but it comes from more than 1,000 fewer donors. Craig Watson, the arts council's director, says it's not surprising the checkoff yield fell short of the bar it was required to meet.