GW lawprof Sarah Lawsky on Obama's itemized deduction proposal:
"Won't this proposal reduce charitable giving? The short answer is: almost certainly yes, though the degree to which it would do so is debated. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, for example, thinks the effect would be small; others are more concerned. Jon Bakija and Bradley Heim, How Does Charitable Giving Respond to Incentives and Income? Dynamic Panel Estimates Accounting for Predictable Changes in Taxation, discusses the more general question of the price elasticity of charitable giving."
Daniel Grant recently discussed this issue at the Huffington Post.