A New Way to Reduce Taxes

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that a number of states are following Wisconsin's lead in allowing living organ donors to deduct as much as $10,000 from their income for travel/lodging expenses and lost wages in the year the taxpayers donate an organ.

Legislators in Georgia, New York, New Jersey and others are planning to introduce tax legislation in the upcoming year to help increase the amount of living organ donors throughout the country. Wisconsin's law covers transplants for all or parts of the liver (which regenerates itself in the donor), pancreas, kidney, intestine, lung or bone marrow from living donors. Currently, the law allows donors to take the deduction once in the donor's life time

However, critics argue that government should not be encouraging organ donation from healty donors because of the health risks they face in undergoing surgical procedures and in giving up organs. The American Medical Association is voting next week on wether to adopt ethical guidelines for living donors which draws a careful line stating that living donors should not receive compensation for their organs other than travel reimbursement or lost wages. Currently there is not a federal income tax deduction for organ donation.