The tax plan that President-elect Barack Obama promised during the campaign could spur donations to charities and arts groups:

One of the key pieces of Mr. Obama’s tax platform during the campaign — a pledge to roll back some of the tax cuts extended by the Bush administration to those earning more than $250,000 annually — would probably increase charitable giving among wealthy donors by 4 percent to 8 percent according to Roberton Williams, principal research associate at the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution’s Tax Policy Center in Washington.

Here’s why: A gift of $100,000 effectively costs $70,000 at a 30-percent tax rate, and $60,000 at a 40-percent tax rate.

“It would make it cheaper for them to give money to charities and, therefore, if all things are the same, they will give more money away,” Mr. Williams says. “You’re essentially lowering the cost to “taxpayers of giving money away.”

The bad news, by the way, can be found here, here, here, here and here.

Scissors image from mediabistro.com.