Lost in translation

We know that Utahns are a charitable lot. For many, it's second nature to give and then give some more when there's a need or cause worthy of support.

For the most part, government encourages charitable giving to not-for-profit agencies because so many of them supplement and even substitute for taxpayer-supported programs. In recent years, the Utah Tax Commission has enabled Utahns to contribute a portion of their state tax refunds to a number of charitable organizations listed on their state income tax form. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Until this year. The simple charity has been complicated by the tax man, so much so that the 2004 state income tax form should have come with a magic decoder ring. Sure, taxpayers can still contribute to various charitable causes on their tax form but they're going to have to make a special effort to do so. Instead of listing the names of the respective charities directly on the form, taxpayers are referred to pages 12 and 13 of the instruction booklet for specific codes to write onto the form to indicate their chosen charity or cause. Backers of the respective organizations on the tax form fear people will be confused by that extra step or, worse, they may consider it too much trouble.

Being in the business of the printed word ourselves, we understand the limitations of space and time. But shouldn't clarity supersede space considerations? Seemingly, the form could have been designed with at least a keyword to assist taxpayers. For instance, the Pamela Atkinson Homeless Trust Fund could have been referred to simply as HOMELESS. Further information could be included in the instructional portion of the tax form. This year, the designated code of the homeless trust fund is 23A-02. But this supposes that taxpayer will go to the trouble of turning to pages 12 and 13 to discover what that means.

The charitable organizations fear there will be a steep drop in contributions if donors have to take one or two extra steps to make a donation. If contributions to a particular organization or charity fall below $30,000 three consecutive years, they are dropped from the form.

Previously, the Utah Tax Commission was called on the carpet by lawmakers for the steep administrative costs of collecting and distributing these contributions. The codes were likely a means to streamline that process. But if finding the correct code is too troublesome, some taxpayers who have contributed in the past may forgo giving out of frustration or because the contribution section may slip past them unnoticed.

We hope that doesn't happen. But until the state tax commission refines the form, we urge taxpayers to carefully read the document if their habit has been to contribute to these organizations.