By Diane Freda, reporter, Daily Tax Report Bloomberg BNA |

Jan. 7 — The IRS has withdrawn proposed rules that would have allowed charities to directly report donors’ contributions to the agency, saying it won’t implement an exception to the current “contemporaneous written acknowledgement” (CWA) requirement for substantiating contributions of $250 or more.

The Internal Revenue Service had been flooded with comment letters opposing the proposal released in September (180 DTR G-7, 9/17/15).

In withdrawing the rules (REG-138344-13) Jan. 7, the IRS cited the substantial number of public comments it has received questioning the need for donee reporting, and especially, the collection and maintenance of Social Security numbers for use on a new information return.