IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 34 
Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the charitable contribution deduction. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 17, 2017 
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia (for himself and Mr. TIBERI) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
Means 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the charitable 
contribution deduction. 
Whereas the deduction for charitable contributions is one of 
the oldest preferences in tax law; 
Whereas the evolution of a tax exemption related to charity 
and philanthropy began at the end of the 19th century 
during consideration of the Tariff Act of 1894; 
Whereas the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution was 
ratified in 1913 and allowed for Congress to tax income; 
Whereas following the ratification of the Sixteenth Amend-
ment, Congress passed the Revenue Act of 1913 which 
established the income tax system and included an ex-
emption for certain organizations; 
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•HCON 34 IH 
Whereas, on October 3, 1917, in response to United States 
entrance into and the need to finance World War I, the 
Congress passed the War Revenue Act of 1917; 
Whereas the War Revenue Act of 1917 included the first in-
dividual income tax deduction in order to ensure that 
philanthropic efforts continued; 
Whereas the charitable deduction empowers individuals to 
give of their personal income for the benefit of the public; 
Whereas individual contributions benefit the arts, humanities, 
religious institutions, education, human services, the envi-
ronment, health programs, and many other sectors; 
Whereas philanthropy serves as a dynamic force to direct pri-
vate resources toward addressing the difficult issues and 
evolving needs of society over a period of time, beyond a 
single act of good will; 
Whereas throughout the 20th century, Democratic and Re-
publican administrations worked to establish what be-
came the Combined Federal Campaign, which seeks to 
create and support Federal employees’ efforts to promote 
and support philanthropy; 
Whereas, in 2015, the largest source of charitable giving was 
from individual contributions; 
Whereas charitable endowments provide foundations and 
other philanthropic institutions with the flexibility to op-
erate strategically and with a longer term focus for iden-
tifying innovative approaches for solving issues at the 
local, State, national, and international level; and 
Whereas philanthropy uniquely contributes to a thriving civil 
society as an essential partner to Government with deep 
roots and expansive networks in communities across the 
country and around the world: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HCON 34 IH 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That the House of Representatives (the Sen-
ate concurring)— 
(1) reaffirms the importance of encouraging 
rather than diminishing philanthropic services which 
respond to the needs of communities; and 
(2) recognizes the 100th anniversary of the 
charitable contribution deduction. 
Æ 
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