--- title: Trump's Tax Law Has Made Americans Less Generous, Charities Say description: Americans gave less money to charities last year partly because the Republican tax law changes made many people ineligible for tax breaks. canonical: https://time.com/5609173/americans-giving-to-charity-trump-tax-law/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-06-18T16:01:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:52:45.181Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump's Tax Law Has Made Americans Less Generous, Charities Say og:description: Giving reportedly fell around 3.4%, after adjusting for inflation, last year og:url: https://time.com/5609173/americans-giving-to-charity-trump-tax-law/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfda4bbca7e46f189/69894b5f929fade369bf35c4/trump-tax-law-charities-down.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: U.S. Is Giving Less to Charities Because of Trump's Tax Law og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump's Tax Law Has Made Americans Less Generous, Charities Say twitter:description: Giving reportedly fell around 3.4%, after adjusting for inflation, last year twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfda4bbca7e46f189/69894b5f929fade369bf35c4/trump-tax-law-charities-down.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:02 video:published: 2017-12-22 section: politics topics: tax overhaul, tax cut, bill signing, legislative approvals, regulations, Oval Office, campaign promise, VA Accountability Act, veterans legislation genre: news, event coverage tones: confident, boastful, celebratory, defensive emotions: pride (high), satisfaction (high), defensiveness (medium) sentiment: positive audience: general news readers, 政治 followers, voters, policy observers people: Donald Trump, Harry Truman organizations: VA transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # President Trump's Tax Law Has Made Americans Less Generous, Charities Say > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0ed9d49c-71c0-47a7-98ef-4ec91ff88ed1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Signs The GOP Tax Bill Into Law [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Signs The GOP Tax Bill Into Law](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3iWi0gjT.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2017-12-22. President Donald Trump has signed into law a $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary President Trump signs a major tax overhaul bill into law in the Oval Office, moving the signing up from a planned ceremony so he can meet his promise of signing before Christmas. He defends his record, citing a count of 88 legislative approvals and claiming it is the most in the country's history, and touts reduced regulations. He calls the bill the biggest tax cut and reform of all time and signs it while thanking those present. ## Key points - Trump signs the bill today instead of holding a formal ceremony in two weeks, to show he is keeping his promise. (00:00) - Trump says he promised the bill would be on his desk before Christmas and that he is signing it before Christmas. (00:10) - Trump says the country is doing very well and that his administration has tremendously cut regulations. (00:27) - Trump claims his administration has 88 legislative approvals, which he says is number one in the country's history. (00:36) - Trump says Harry Truman is second with the most legislative approvals and that the record was long held by Truman. (00:43) - Trump says he gets no credit for legislative victories, including the VA Accountability Act and other bills on veterans and the military. (00:57) - Trump describes the bill as the biggest tax cut and biggest reform of all time, and says he is very proud of it. (01:18) - Trump says he will sign the bill right now and that the full signing ceremony will not be carried out as planned. (01:27) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:27] Signing moved up to meet promise. Trump explains he is signing the bill today rather than at a formal ceremony to keep his pledge of signing before Christmas. - [00:27 to 01:18] Claims of record legislative approvals. Trump touts reduced regulations and says his legislative approvals exceed those of any president, including Harry Truman. - [01:18 to 02:02] Signing the tax bill. Trump calls the bill the biggest tax cut and reform of all time, thanks attendees, and signs the bill. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Donald Trump: "So I'll sign this today rather having a very big formal" - [00:10] Donald Trump: "I am keeping my promise. I am signing it" - [00:36] Donald Trump: "we have, I believe it's 88, which is number one" - [00:43] Donald Trump: "Harry Truman had more legislative approvals than any" - [01:18] Donald Trump: "this is, again, the biggest tax cut, biggest" ## Questions this video answers - Why did the president sign the tax bill earlier than a planned ceremony? [00:00] - When did the president say the bill would be signed? [00:10] - How many legislative approvals does the president claim his administration has? [00:36] - Who does the president say had the previous record for legislative approvals? [00:43] - Which bills does the president cite as examples of his legislative victories? [00:57] - How does the president describe the size and significance of the tax bill? [01:18] by [Laura Davison / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Laura Davison / Bloomberg Contributor Jun 18, 2019 4:01 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about expanding healthcare coverage for small businesses in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 14, 2019 in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about expanding healthcare coverage for small businesses in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 14, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Laura Davison / Bloomberg](https://time.com/author/bloomberg/) ## Laura Davison / Bloomberg Contributor Jun 18, 2019 4:01 PM UTC (Bloomberg) — Americans gave less money to charities last year partly because the Republican tax law changes made many people ineligible for tax breaks that can inspire donations. Giving by individuals fell an estimated 3.4%, after adjusting for inflation, last year, according to a report released Tuesday by Giving USA. The numbers reflect the first year of the 2017 tax overhaul that expanded the standard deduction, a simpler way of filing taxes, but also excluded millions of taxpayers from claiming a tax break for donating to charity. Total estimated giving, by corporations, foundations, as well as individuals, fell about 1.7%, after inflation, to $427.7 billion. Individuals account for more than two-thirds of all charitable giving. Increases in donations from corporations and foundations helped offset some of the losses from individuals. “The environment for giving in 2018 was far more complex than most years, with shifts in tax policy and the volatility of the stock market,” Rick Dunham, chair of Giving USA Foundation, said in a press release. The report is based on data provided by donors, fund-raisers and non-profits. The 2017 tax law nearly doubled the standard deduction to $24,000 for a couple. That change meant it was more advantageous for millions of taxpayers to file using the lump sum deduction, rather than tallying up all their tax breaks from mortgage interest payments, state and local taxes and charitable gifts. Only about 18 million taxpayers itemized in 2018 down from 46.5 million the year before, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. About 88% of filers last year took the standard deduction, which means they couldn’t write off their donations. Religious congregations are likely to be among the most affected by the decline of individual contributions because most of their donors are also members of the church, synagogue or mosque. Congregations also don’t receive donations from corporations or foundations, Una Osili, an associate associate dean at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, said in a call with reporters. Some nonprofits predicted that contributions could decrease substantially following the tax law changes, but the most recent data don’t show the most dire estimates coming to fruition. Republicans and Democrats have both contemplated making the charitable contribution deduction an “above the line” tax break, meaning that taxpayers can claim it regardless of whether they itemize or not. Such a change, however, is unlikely to pass in the near future. That change could cost as much as $515 billion over a decade, according to estimates from the Tax Foundation. ## Transcript [00:00] So I'll sign this today rather having a very big formal [00:03] ceremony in two weeks when we were going to do it. [00:06] Because I didn't want you folks to say that I wasn't keeping [00:10] my promise. I am keeping my promise. I am signing it [00:13] before Christmas. I said that the bill would be on my desk [00:16] before Christmas. And you are holding me literally to that. [00:20] So we did a rush job today. It's not fancy, but it's the oval [00:23] office. It's the great oval office. And just to [00:27] conclude, our country's doing very well. We've [00:31] tremendously cut regulations. Legislative approvals [00:36] For which I'm given no credit in the main stream media, we [00:39] have, I believe it's 88, which is number one [00:43] in the history of our country. Second now, is Harry Truman. [00:46] Harry Truman had more legislative approvals than any [00:49] other president and a record long held. And [00:54] we beat him on legislative approvals, for which I get no [00:57] credit. A lot of people say he needed this because he has [01:00] had no legislative approvals. Well if you look at VA [01:05] Accountability Act and so many other bills having to do with [01:08] the VA. Having to do with the military, having to do with [01:10] many things. We have more legislative victories. Than [01:15] any other president, not including this. But this is the [01:18] capper, because this is, again, the biggest tax cut, biggest [01:22] reform of all time. So it's an honor to have you [01:27] with us, and we will sign this right now. This is something [01:31] I'm very proud of, great for our country, great for the [01:34] American people. Thank you all. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [01:50] So, we won't do the whole thing, but this is basically what it [01:54] is. That's your bill. 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