Are campaign donations deductible business expense?

Can I deduct my $25 campaign contribution from my sole-proprietor business? My guess is no, because it is not a business expense?

Reply to
oprah.chopra
Loading thread data ...

Political contributions are not deductible period.

Reply to
Haskel LaPort

Even for lobbying organizations, whose major expense would (I imagine) be political contributions? (Perhaps salaries, airline and meal expenses, etc might be more, but who knows).

Reply to
removeps-groups

But what it if's ordinary and necessary (say, like a bribe)?

Stu

Reply to
Stuart Bronstein

To be deductible, a business expense must be, as we all know, ordinary and necessary. BUT not all such expenses are deductible.

Reminds me of a prospective franchisee up in Philadelphia we talked to one time. he asked us for a list of officials who would be needing payments in order to get his ice cream store up and running.

He was from the Bronx, and I guess he figured they did things in Norristown just like they did them in Noo Yawk.

ChEAr$, Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

Reply to
Harlan Lunsford

That reminds me of the time when the New York telephone company was in deep doo-doo in the mid 60's. They were borrowing telephone technicians and supervisors from all over the country. My supervisor from the SF Bay Area went back there on loan for 6 months as a splicing foreman.

On his first day, he was given a job in a manhole in a mid Manhattan street. He had his men setup the cones, signs, warning lights, etc., and was just getting started when a cop came over and told him to pack up and get out. He protested, that the phone company had all of the necessary permits but the cop said that if they were not out of the area in 5 minutes they would be spending the night in jail -- they packed up and left.

Back at the garage, when he told his story about getting chased off by the cop, he was met with much laughter and "You didn't slip the cop his $20 bill did you?" He kept a pocket full of folded $20 bills after that and never had any more problems.

Reply to
Ernie Klein

Your savings would be less than $10 - not worth the penalty and interest.

Reminds me of my pain management doctor asking me how to deduct his children's private school tuition. I told him for me to explain it to him would be as unethical as if he explained to me how to make synthetic heroin.

Marge Lindheimer Everett, manager of Arlington Park and Washington Park race tracks in Illinois, tried to justify her million dollar plus stock transfer to Governor Otto Kerner and his bag man (I meant Director of Finance) Ted Issacs as an "Ordinary and Necessary" business expense. Kerner, a former US Attorney, was a sitting Federal Judge at the time of his prosecution. Both he and Issacs received vacations at Club Fed.

I presume Ms. Everett just owed back taxes with the penalty being waived for her testimony - but I do no know that to be true.

Dick

Reply to
Dick Adams

Bribes are not deductible even if ord/necc. - Section 162(f).

Reply to
D. Stussy

BeanSmart website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.