There is nothing sacred about deductability. The government is always tinkering, incenting this or that with tax breaks, credits, subsidies, etc. Most over time prove to be counter-productive.

On the other hand, deducting charitable giving has been around and unchanged for as long as I can remember. Generally is seems to work and encourage more giving than otherwise might occur. It generally is not gamed and I would guess those charity $$ are used far more efficiently than direct government programs.

I’d rather end the myriad of other deductions and subsidies before attacking this one.

As for the moral case and deductability, it does not impact whether or not I give, but it does influence the amount I give, and that is in the upward direction. On balance, I think that is a good thing.

Cheers,

PS- I would gladly give it up, if all the others were eliminated at the same time.