The Third Sector

Is it not worthy promoting a reform to get rid of the obstacles, to accommodate the general interest?

It is now in particular, in this time of general, widespread and deep economic crisis, when it becomes necessary to draw the attention of public powers in order that the so called third sector does not fall into oblivion. That is to say, the important role that the foundations, the patronage, can and must perform, in the long-awaited process of the economical recovery.

In my opinion,  It is necessary because it is really the third sector, one of the thermometers which better takes the measure of the degree of fortitude of a society, generally lulled by the increasing temptation of the public powers to occupy the space which corresponds to people's freedom, with the seemingly good excuse of protecting their fundamental rights.

Nearly nine thousand foundations operate in Spain, with very different ends but all of them linked to supportive aims, under the protection of the article 34 of the Constitution, they are the expression of the high civil sensibility to achieve their own ideals for the sake of the others.

Yet, this high potential, which may have so much impact in the process of economical revitalization, regrettably advances slowly with the emergency brake on, mainly as a cause of an intense and wrong regulation of the tax system. Because, it is clear, as it has already been proven in other countries especially the United States of America, that the economic and social profits which are offered by the foundations, generate economic and social profitability very superior to those of the resources obtained by public funds.

Thus, while in Spain, and generally speaking in Europe, the legal frame confines the donations of natural and artificial persons to a 10 % of the tax or taxable base, and is fixed in a 25 % or 35 % of the donation (depending if they are people or Legal Entities) the maximum of the possible fiscal deduction, in the United States the donated quantities are tax free. Consequently, the North American foundations bring high sums to universities or to united aims, which allow generating enormous economic and social profits, while the Spanish tax system extraordinarily restricts this type of initiatives, limiting to the minimum the effective impact of the initiatives developed by the third sector.

Is it not worthy promoting a reform to get rid of the obstacles, to accommodate the general interest?