East Bay Express, February 9, 2011 by Luke Tsai
http://bit.ly/f8oR2F
Rakowski said that if the donor is motivated by what the Supreme Court has termed “disinterested generosity,” then the money can simply be treated as a gift and isn’t subject to taxation. But if some tangible perk is given in exchange for the contribution, then that transaction can no longer be viewed as a pure “donation,” per se, from a tax standpoint.