in most countries, it is basically impossible to write off donations as expenses. this means the company have to pay taxes for money that isn't even there anymore.
if people want companies to support good causes, the first item on the agenda should be to lobby for changed tax laws.
In personal income taxes, I have always seen the deductibility of charitable donations and (in the US) mortgage interest as being a form of social engineering -- donating to charity and home ownership are individual behaviors that the government wants to promote, so it effectively subsidizes them for most people.
Businesses are generally run to maximize profit so you could assume a deduction for charitable giving would be immediately weaponized by creating a charitable arm of the company and donating most profits to yourself, or something equally repulsive.
I don’t want the net financing costs for a rented property to be significantly lower, which would serve to help a landlord outbid an owner-occupant.
(Yes, there is also a social engineering component, but there’s a practical economics-based argument for it as well.)
> Businesses are generally run to maximize profit so you could assume a deduction for charitable giving would be immediately weaponized by creating a charitable arm of the company and donating most profits to yourself, or something equally repulsive.
Aren't there a bunch of groups like for example Mozilla which have both company and non-profit arms? And yes it could be abused, but is a scheme that just donates money to a charity that has the company owner for a CEO and does nothing but pay high salaries is already forbidden?
Just ask the author for a proper onetime invoice. Maybe not all OSS authors will do it, but I woud be happy to make a quick PDF for a nice buck. :)
Now the real reason that doesn’t happen more often: Our financial departments and/or bureaucracy inside the org are actively hindering frivolous acts as being nice to others.