Sounds like the IRS needs to do something useful about the definition of "charity". I won't hold my breathe though.
I wouldn't either, not at its current funding levels.
Also the monies "donated" cannot ultimately end up in .gov coffers.
Is "school programs" diffuse enough, fairly broad enough, and far enough away from 'government coffers' to count as a charity?
Or, to really piss people off here, they could do this:
1. Make Planned Parenthood(California division), which already receives state funds, one of the eligible charities that you get a 1:1 credit for. (They could even make it 90% or so to avoid some issues)
2. Reduce PP funding proportionally to the donations.
Result: PP fully funded, lots of people getting big tax writeoffs.
Now, more realistically they'd make a superpac type charity system, Ala United Way. Which will look at their total receipts and distribute it to all the charities that WOULD have gotten state money(and more), in lieu of said state money. That way places like parks & rec aren't forgotten in favor of more known options.
Plus I hope it takes any new "High Income Tax State" charities to get 501(c)(3) status as it did for the various Tea Party groups to obtain their 501(c)(?) exemptions.
Isn't that just a matter of filing the paperwork?
Hell, going by some writeups the state could found a 'church' and sidestep everything.
Remember, I'm not a lawyer, I'm simply repeating what I've read on the news. California, NY, and others have actual lawyers working on this.