Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's recent pledge to give one-third of his fortune to charity highlights the global growth in philanthropy -- and a wave of tax relief and other incentives aimed at boosting charitable donations around the world.
In Asia, government gift-matching programs that Hong Kong and Singapore put in place over the past few years are helping raise money for higher education.
In Europe, governments are experimenting with new tax benefits aimed at boosting historically low rates of giving. France, for example, has enacted a new tax credit of 66% of the value of a donation to churches, schools and certain other charities, up to a maximum of 20% of a donor's taxable income, says French tax expert Stephanie H. Simonard.
Fueling the trend is a drive by governments to use philanthropy to help pay for increasingly costly social programs, especially higher education, says Ian Edwards, the former head of development at Insead, a global business school in Fontainebleau, France.
Some governments also view philanthropy as "a way of helping [promote] cohesion," says Stephen Ainger, chief executive of Britain's Charities Aid Foundation. "Just look at all the issues we have in Europe," he says, citing riots in France and post-9/11 terror plots.
[Excerpt of an article by Sally Beatty, The Wall Street Journal]
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