Contact:
Hartgen
(703) 739-0800
href='mailto:jhartgen@abiworld.org'>jhartgen@abiworld.org
CHARITABLE
CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE DEDUCTIBLE FOR ABOVE-MEDIAN DEBTORS IN CHAPTER
13 PLANS, ACCORDING TO NEW ABI POLL
size='3'>
November 13, 2006, Alexandria, Va. — A
majority (57 percent) of respondents in a recent American Bankruptcy
Institute online poll disagreed that above-median income debtors in
chapter 13 repayment plans could not deduct charitable contributions
when calculating their disposable income under the means test. Forty-two
percent of respondents “strongly disagreed” and another 15
percent “disagreed somewhat” that charitable contributions
are not deductible for above-median income debtors in chapter 13 when
calculating their disposable income under the means
test.
Thirty-two percent agreed that
above-median income debtors in chapter 13 repayment plans cannot deduct
charitable contributions when calculating their disposable income under
the means test. Twenty-four percent of respondents “agreed
strongly,” while 8 percent “somewhat agreed” that
charitable contributions cannot be deducted from an above-median income
debtor’s disposable income under the means test. Twelve percent
did not know or had no opinion on the issue.
The poll question is
based on a case, In re
Diagostino, in which a bankruptcy judge ruled
in August that a couple who contributed $100 a month to their church
could not deduct the contributions from their disposable income under
the new bankruptcy law.
ABI members and members
of the public were welcome to submit their response to the statement:
“Above-median
income debtors in chapter 13 repayment plans cannot deduct charitable
contributions when calculating their disposable income under the means
test (In re Diagostino)
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>.” The
latest ABI Quick Poll +was open for voting from Nov. 2-Nov.
9.
ABI’s weekly Quick Poll
is posted on ABI’s home page,
href='http://www.abiworld.org/'>
size='3'>www.abiworld.org
size='3'>. ABI members and the public are invited to respond to a
question on a timely bankruptcy or insolvency issue. Visit
href='http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/'>
color='#0000ff' size='3'>http://www.abiworld.net/quickpoll/
to access the results of previous
ABI Quick Polls.
###
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education on matters related to insolvency. ABI was founded in 1982 to
provide Congress and the public with unbiased analysis of bankruptcy
issues. The ABI membership includes more than 11,500 attorneys,
accountants, bankers, judges, professors, lenders, turnaround
specialists and other bankruptcy professionals, providing a forum for
the exchange of ideas and information. For additional information on
ABI, visit www.abiworld.org. For additional conference information,
visit
face='Times New Roman' color='#0000ff'
size='3'>http://www.abiworld.org/conferences.html
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>.