The trade is this: if you made $100 and your marginal tax rate is 20%, you can either (a) let the government spend $20 however it sees fit and you spend $80 however you see fit (which may be an $80 bottle of wine); or (b) you spend $100 on any charitable cause you see fit (which must meet certain requirements).<p>That doesn&#x27;t seem like a bad trade to me, especially since rich people have fairly low marginal tax rates.