[WikiEN-l] Re: Personal donations to Wikipedia

Mon Jan 2 08:08:50 UTC 2006

Lisa Thurston wrote:

>Further to my email about ads on Wikipedia, I want to point out some
>concerns I have about the current Wikimedia fundraising drive too.
>
>Why haven't tax professionals been consulted to specify exactly what the
>tax-deductibility status donations to Wikipedia have in the top donor
>countries? It should be found out and explictly specified on the home page.
>I for one won't donate without knowing my donation is tax-deductible in
>Australia. And if, for instance, it did say "tax deductible in Australia"
>Aussies *would* notice it instantly seriously consider donating!
>
>In fact, if the answer for Australia or Canada or Sweden or whatever is "not
>deductible" then Wikipedia should make a request for Wikipedians in those
>countries to form local chapters to obtain the NGO/charity status. This
>wouldn't just help Wikimedia out by generating more revenue, but create a
>stronger Wikipedian community outside US and central Europe.
>  
>
While we're interested in having tax deductibility for as many donors as 
possible, it is not the Wikimedia Foundation's business to provide tax 
advice for anybody. We should stay far away from this. Even in the 
obvious case, plugging tax deductibility in the US is somewhat 
problematic because quite a few people will not realize that this is 
only worth something to them if they itemize their deductions. That's 
why the better approach is to simply say, "Donations may be tax 
deductible, consult a professional for details."

Incidentally, regarding the specific case, I believe Tim Starling's 
preliminary investigation suggested that tax deductibility in Australia 
may not be all that likely.

--Michael Snow