Charitable Funds are Not Government Property Jul 29, 2021 Elizabeth McGuigan Proposed federal legislation, S. 1981, covered here before, poses several threats to charitable giving. Much of the debate has centered around mandating donor-advised fund payouts within a specific time frame. The legislation would require DAFs to pay out within 15 years if a donor wishes to claim the charitable tax deduction. But little has been said about the proposed penalty for funds that do not pay out within 15 years (or 50 for those not claiming the deduction). The legislation would impose a confiscatory 50 percent tax on the charitable resources within a DAF that have not been paid out in the arbitrary time frame. This penalty would endanger charitable resources, which are part of the backbone of civil society.