The Report summarizes major proposals by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) for dealing with high-profile issues in the area of charitable giving. The proposals came from a January 2005 report compiled by the JCT staff (JCS-02-05) and have not been endorsed by the chairman or the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee. However, the ideas could play a role as the Finance Committee staff molds a comprehensive overhaul of tax exemptions with introduction of legislation possible in September. According to the report, the JCT proposal on conservation easements would eliminate deductions for property still used as personal residences, reduce the amount that could be deducted, restrict some of the conservation purposes, and impose requirements on the appraiser who determined the contribution's value. The JCT proposals also would cap the deduction on gifts of clothing and household items at $500 annually. That would be in line the $500 threshold above which donors must report their gifts to Internal Revenue Service, the CRS report said. The JCT also recommended restricting gifts of appreciated property by limiting the deduction for any contribution to the smaller of the donor's basis in the property or the property's fair market value, but allowing for the donee organization to use the gift to further its tax-exempt purpose. Such a change, the JCT staff reasoned, would encourage useful gifts to charitable groups. "Cash, publicly traded securities, and arguably property that can be used directly in substantial furtherance of exempt purposes meet this standard. Other gifts of property generally do not and so need not to be as favored," the CRS report quoted the JCT paper as saying.