Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Yahoo)   If you've ever wondered if those "round up for charity" options at the register are legitimate, check out this class-action lawsuit against CVS   (yahoo.com) divider line
82
    More: Fail, Donation, pharmaceutical giant CVS, American Diabetes Association, Accountable Fundraising, CVS's social responsibility team, Fundraising, Humanitarian aid, CVS Pharmacy locations  
•       •       •

5189 clicks; posted to Main » and Business » on 08 Dec 2022 at 10:08 AM (7 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



82 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all

 
vudukungfu [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 9:21:50 AM  
Wait until they get the itemized receipt for legal services.
 
NewportBarGuy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 9:33:02 AM  
They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?
 
OldRod [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 9:41:22 AM  
I get so tired of this.  Our one local convenience store has a different donation request every farking month.  I never say yes when they ask... I'm in there every day, you think they'd get the hint
 
MrSplifferton
2022-12-08 10:10:07 AM  
Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).
 
guestguy
2022-12-08 10:11:10 AM  
"Every dollar you donate saves us from donating a dollar!"
 
patricula
2022-12-08 10:11:50 AM  
Sounds like someone didn't read all the fine print...

andyludlum.comView Full Size
 
Madman drummers bummers [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:12:24 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer grift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


FTFY
 
phygz [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:12:37 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


It's EXACTLY the reason I've never hit that button. ESPECIALLY if I happen to be in a Walmart.
 
Madman drummers bummers [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:13:52 AM  
Introducing its pledge, CVS's social responsibility team said the donations would support families dealing with diabetes and fund research to eradicate health disparities.

What CVS's social responsibility team may look like:

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
phygz [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:15:19 AM  

MrSplifferton: Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).


I'll tip, that goes directly to the person responsible for good service I have received.

I refuse to wittingly help any corporation in it's quest for a tax write-off.
 
Moroning [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:15:23 AM  
John Oliver covered this awhile ago.  The money you give them they donate as theirs and write it off on their taxes.
 
labman [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 10:16:21 AM  

phygz: NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?

It's EXACTLY the reason I've never hit that button. ESPECIALLY if I happen to be in a Walmart.


Me too.
 
Azlefty [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 10:17:54 AM  
The suit will be tossed since they are not required to disclose the details;  all that matters is the money goes ot ht e Charity.  Besides any reasonable person would know that is how corporations fund their donations
 
cfreak [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 10:19:38 AM  

MrSplifferton: Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).


Kroger does a thing where you buy a physical bag of food that is donated to a local food bank. I've bought the bags and helped distribute them when volunteering at the food bank so I know they actually are sent.

/ not sure if that's a local thing or if they do it nationally
// bastards probably still write it off their taxes though
 
Intrepid00
2022-12-08 10:19:39 AM  
Ronald McDonald house is still legitimately something you should round up for.
 
rnatalie [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:19:42 AM  

Moroning: John Oliver covered this awhile ago.  The money you give them they donate as theirs and write it off on their taxes.


He covered it wrong then.

If it goes into their coffers and they use it to donate to the ADA, then they have to book the revenue as well as the deduction.   Should be a wash.

If it goes directly to ADA, they don't get to count it as their contribution.
 
phedex
2022-12-08 10:20:19 AM  
im cheap enough that i only do it when its a couple cents up, just to see the round number.  if it's like... 60, 70  cents, no way.
 
Misch [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:22:04 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


But that's ok. Otherwise, that money gets booked as income and the corporation has to pay tax on that income if it shows up as profit. The deduction is roughly equal to the amount of money that they then donate. (Technically, the corporation can probably deduct some ancillary expenses, like credit card fees and some of the actual cost of sending the money to the charity).

It's pretty much a net-zero on the corporations taxes, and the charity supposedly gets some money (though in this case, it's a bit questionable.)
 
KingPorter
2022-12-08 10:24:23 AM  
At our local small town grocery store it's a continuous thing.  Some of the causes are a little iffy/have political alignment.  But our First Responders (EMS - I'm one of them) do it a couple times a year and we DO get all of the money from it.  Since we're funded largely by donations, it does have an impact.

Trust, but verify?
 
nytmare
2022-12-08 10:26:07 AM  
Funny how every store implemented this irritation at the same time credit card use became nearly ubiquitous, helped along by covid. When you're using a card, rounding the payment amount is meaningless.

How much cut of these "donations" is the store getting to make it worth their while to embed this irritation into their point of sale systems?
 
backhand.slap.of.reason
2022-12-08 10:27:38 AM  
Bet they were writing that off with one hand while raising prices with the other, too.
 
wrenchboy
2022-12-08 10:27:51 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


I didn't miss it. I just assume. for example, tRump.org
 
MrSplifferton
2022-12-08 10:28:20 AM  

phygz: MrSplifferton: Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).

I'll tip, that goes directly to the person responsible for good service I have received.

I refuse to wittingly help any corporation in it's quest for a tax write-off.


Here is the thing about tipping, everyone is asking for one now.  Drive through, add tip.  Fireworks stall, add tip.  I even saw an online store ask for tips for their warehouse workers.
It's gotten beyond ridiculous at this point.
 
Intrepid00
2022-12-08 10:29:18 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


No they don't. It would be a good scam if they did but that would be tax fraud.
 
natazha [BareFark]
2022-12-08 10:34:39 AM  

MrSplifferton: Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).


Each of our donations goes directly  to a specific organization.
 
WoodyHayes [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:37:43 AM  
It absolutely bugs the shiat out of me when a place with a gazillion bucks attempts to give me a guilt trip.
 
APO_Buddha [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 10:40:02 AM  

phygz: MrSplifferton: Yeah, round up, and tipping are both scams to get you to pay for the employers expenses.  If you want to donate, do it directly, don't expect a corporation to do it for you (without some kind of fee or loophole).

I'll tip, that goes directly to the person responsible for good service I have received.

I refuse to wittingly help any corporation in it's quest for a tax write-off.


Not sure if it is the same thing...

I shop at a co-op that does a "round up" for local charities. The charities change from month to month, and co-op members get to vote on selected charities. Good local groups like a women's domestic shelter, multiple local food banks, and the local library.

Does my small donation = a tax write-off for the co-op? Maybe it does, but I'd be shocked if the total amount is $30k over 12 months. Plus, I know who the money is being donated to, and I see their impact on the local community, so I'm fine donating my $2.34 monthly in rounding up.
 
Dadburns
2022-12-08 10:41:22 AM  
I worked for a privately (family) owned corporation of about 400 employees that had a company Christmas charity. They collected money all year from the employees in various ways; $2 to wear jeans in the office on Fridays, monthly pledges deducted from payroll, etc...
Then as Christmas approached the employees would organize to find impoverished families, buy and deliver gifts to them. So basically, the employees funded the charity and did the work of distributing it (on their own time) and every year the owner of the company would be on local television and in the newspaper taking the credit for "his" charity.
 
Salmon
2022-12-08 10:42:38 AM  

OldRod: I get so tired of this.  Our one local convenience store has a different donation request every farking month.  I never say yes when they ask... I'm in there every day, you think they'd get the hint


I farking hate this + the cash back button + the do you want this credit card button, etc.

I want this milk. That's it.
 
69gnarkill69
2022-12-08 10:47:04 AM  

WoodyHayes: It absolutely bugs the shiat out of me when a place with a gazillion bucks attempts to give me a guilt trip.


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Exile On Beale Street [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:50:38 AM  

vudukungfu: Wait until they get the itemized receipt for legal services.


No shiat. I asked the woman at my local CVS how often she had to change the tape out, and she stared daggers at me.
/dude there is a dead ringer for BTK
 
Exile On Beale Street [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:54:02 AM  

Intrepid00: Ronald McDonald house is still legitimately something you should round up for.


Yep. And St. Jude. Some people actually steal from these kids, can you imagine?
 
Optimus Primate [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:55:22 AM  
FWIW (subby here) I believe that plenty of companies handle this in a verifiable and proper way.
Chipotle, as far as I know, is one of those companies.

The tax write-off thing is kindof a red herring and not always applicable.
The company can't claim a tax writeoff unless the funds enter the companies general ledger, which these monies should not.
 
Petey4335
2022-12-08 10:56:21 AM  

KingPorter: At our local small town grocery store it's a continuous thing.  Some of the causes are a little iffy/have political alignment.  But our First Responders (EMS - I'm one of them) do it a couple times a year and we DO get all of the money from it.  Since we're funded largely by donations, it does have an impact.

Trust, but verify?


Um, why in the ever loving farks of fark is EMS funded largely by donations?

(its one of those days where I just wrote a wall of rambling text where the above statement seems to well enough explain my frustrations of living in a third world country thinking its a first world country)
 
NewportBarGuy [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-12-08 10:56:24 AM  

Optimus Primate: FWIW (subby here) I believe that plenty of companies handle this in a verifiable and proper way.
Chipotle, as far as I know, is one of those companies.

The tax write-off thing is kindof a red herring and not always applicable.
The company can't claim a tax writeoff unless the funds enter the companies general ledger, which these monies should not.


So they make the $10,000,000 donation from company funds, and shift those other funds elsewhere on the books.
 
Fano
2022-12-08 10:56:49 AM  

OldRod: I get so tired of this.  Our one local convenience store has a different donation request every farking month.  I never say yes when they ask... I'm in there every day, you think they'd get the hint


I like the slight frown you get when you say you don't want to give to disabled veterans or special needs poor kids who don't read good. As though by walking into the Piggly Wiggly you were asking to be pestered for spare change.
 
Fano
2022-12-08 10:59:17 AM  

NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?


I always liked a quote from PJ O'Rourke along the lines of "even the Dastardly Robber Barons washed THEIR OWN dirty loot, rather than a bunco scheme like telling other people to donate their hard earned money so they could feel good about themselves."
 
Fano
2022-12-08 11:01:09 AM  

Misch: NewportBarGuy: They also get to use that $10 million customer gift as a tax write-off.

Why does everyone always miss that part?

But that's ok. Otherwise, that money gets booked as income and the corporation has to pay tax on that income if it shows up as profit. The deduction is roughly equal to the amount of money that they then donate. (Technically, the corporation can probably deduct some ancillary expenses, like credit card fees and some of the actual cost of sending the money to the charity).

It's pretty much a net-zero on the corporations taxes, and the charity supposedly gets some money (though in this case, it's a bit questionable.)


Depending. Do they make money off the interest on that money before they hand it over or otherwise manipulate their books with it?
 
offacue [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 11:02:39 AM  

Dadburns: I worked for a privately (family) owned corporation of about 400 employees that had a company Christmas charity. They collected money all year from the employees in various ways; $2 to wear jeans in the office on Fridays, monthly pledges deducted from payroll, etc...



How much to not wear pants at all?
 
farkitallletitend
2022-12-08 11:02:46 AM  
Social responsibility team? Really? This is the best they could do? Fraud on multiple levels. The team is probably one guy that almost finished his accounting accreditation class in the Maldives.
 
neofonz
2022-12-08 11:03:46 AM  
The ones I really despise are the ones at pet stores that ask you to buy a toy for an animal in the shelter for like $5.  OF COURSE I want to do something nice for an animal in the shelter, but I just know the toy cost the store something like 50 cents and they are pocketing the rest as a profit, while writing the entire toy's retail price off as a charitable donation to the shelter.

I still buy the toy though, because it is hopefully making a shelter animal's life a little better.
 
Fissile
2022-12-08 11:05:13 AM  
They're just being consistent.  This is a rotten company in every other aspect, why would they be honest in regards to this?  BTW, the local CVS has some one of the most astonishing employee turnover rates I've seen anywhere.
 
Fara Clark [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 11:08:41 AM  

Petey4335: KingPorter: At our local small town grocery store it's a continuous thing.  Some of the causes are a little iffy/have political alignment.  But our First Responders (EMS - I'm one of them) do it a couple times a year and we DO get all of the money from it.  Since we're funded largely by donations, it does have an impact.

Trust, but verify?

Um, why in the ever loving farks of fark is EMS funded largely by donations?

(its one of those days where I just wrote a wall of rambling text where the above statement seems to well enough explain my frustrations of living in a third world country thinking its a first world country)


You're welcome to leave at any time.
 
LarryDan43
2022-12-08 11:08:46 AM  
"Not today, thanks"
 
lymond01
2022-12-08 11:09:01 AM  
I'm not feeling the outrage.  Either way my money is going to the ADA which is all the button suggested.  CVS's commitment is their own problem.  If I'm supposed to be irked that a corporation isn't meeting their social responsibility, I'm leaving my fainting sofa at home.
 
PickleBarrel
2022-12-08 11:15:37 AM  

rnatalie: Moroning: John Oliver covered this awhile ago.  The money you give them they donate as theirs and write it off on their taxes.

He covered it wrong then.

If it goes into their coffers and they use it to donate to the ADA, then they have to book the revenue as well as the deduction.   Should be a wash.

If it goes directly to ADA, they don't get to count it as their contribution.


Let's see. Random person on internet has an opinion.  Person with team that will research their story, and who has put out a LOT of good information about a LOT of different things that can be researched by other people to verify their claims.

Who should I listen to....Who?  What a conundrum...Who should I listen to?
 
AeAe
2022-12-08 11:18:46 AM  
I never do those things because I think they're all scams. Did you know the Red Cross actually sells the blood you donated?
 
damageddude [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 11:23:44 AM  
Heh, just came back from CVS and this was the first time in a while I wasn't asked if I wanted to make a donatiom.

/never do it as I pay with a HSA card that is for medical expenses only
 
azwethnkweiz
2022-12-08 11:23:47 AM  

Petey4335: KingPorter: At our local small town grocery store it's a continuous thing.  Some of the causes are a little iffy/have political alignment.  But our First Responders (EMS - I'm one of them) do it a couple times a year and we DO get all of the money from it.  Since we're funded largely by donations, it does have an impact.

Trust, but verify?

Um, why in the ever loving farks of fark is EMS funded largely by donations?

(its one of those days where I just wrote a wall of rambling text where the above statement seems to well enough explain my frustrations of living in a third world country thinking its a first world country)


Bc the local tax money went to buying a tankh for the local police dept
 
Scorpitron is reduced to a thin red paste [TotalFark]
2022-12-08 11:28:03 AM  

KingPorter: At our local small town grocery store it's a continuous thing.  Some of the causes are a little iffy/have political alignment.  But our First Responders (EMS - I'm one of them) do it a couple times a year and we DO get all of the money from it.  Since we're funded largely by donations, it does have an impact.

Trust, but verify?


I don't think people are saying the charities don't get the money (usually). It's that the corporations use this near-scam to pay their tax bills.
 
Displayed 50 of 82 comments


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all


View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

If you like these links, you'll love

TotalFark

More Farking, less working

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.