Owner-based Approach to Corporate Charity - Berkshire Hathaway

When A takes money from B to give to C and A is a legislator, the process is called taxation. But when A is an officer or director of a corporation, it is called philanthropy. We continue to believe that contributions, aside from those with quite clear direct benefits to the company, should reflect the charitable preferences of owners rather than those of officers and directors.

In effect, ... representatives of the owners direct funds to their favourite charities, and never consult the owners as to their charitable preferences.

Each Berkshire shareholder - on a basis proportional to the number of shares of Berkshire that he owns - will be able to designate recipients of charitable contributions by our company. You'll name the charity; Berkshire will write the check. The ruling [US Treasury] states that there will be no personal tax consequences to our shareholders from making such designations ... READ MORE

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America
Released by Lawrence A. Cunningham