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Conservation Tax Incentive Update
12/14/07 Senate Passes Farm Bill with Extension of New Tax Incentive
Next Step: House-Senate Conference
View the latest Advocates Alert for more information
Recent News
Senate Voting on Farm Bill Starts Thursday, December 13
This is the last chance to contact your Senators to urge their support of this key conservation initiative. The Bill is likely to include the permanent extension of the conservation tax incentive, so we need your support today! View the latest Advocates Alert for more information on how to take action.
See the latest on the tax incentive and current sponsor list
(posted 12/07/07)
(as of 11/15/07)
The Senate farm bill includes the tax provisions passed by the Finance Committee several weeks ago, making the conservation easement tax incentive passed in 2006 permanent. That provision seems to be in good shape, though we don't know when the Senate will actually pass the farm bill.
On November 9th, the House passed a one-year extension of the conservation easement incentive as part of a much bigger bill to extend a variety of expiring tax laws and a provision to prevent more people from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. The Senate won't just pass this -- it was passed on a party line vote in the House, and there is significant resistance to a number of the elements of this bill in the Senate.
But sooner or later, the House and Senate tax committees will sit down together, either on the farm bill or on the extenders bill, to address whether to extend the conservation easement incentive for one year, or permanently. It could still happen this year, though it may slip into February.
In either case, we still have time to help persuade House leaders to make the conservation easement incentive permanent!
For more information on the conservation tax incentive initiatives click here.
For questions or more information, please contact policy@lta.org |
IRS Update
New! Colorado Easements in the News (posted 12/14/07)
Colorado's newspapers continue to cover investigations by the state and by the IRS of conservation easement donations in Colorado. The Alliance has been working closely with the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts to help shape how the media handles this story. On Monday the Denver Post ran an excellent editorial, with a message we support: that the state is right to crack down on abusers, while supporting Colorado’s conservation easement program as one that has very successfully protected important conservation lands. Read the editorial
IRS sends letter to Senator Salazar (posted 9/10/07)
The Land Trust Alliance and representatives of the Colorado's conservation community met with IRS officials in late July to discuss the conservation easement audits in Colorado. See the IRS's letter to Senator Salazar about the meeting. (pdf 688 KB)
IRS Releases Guidance on New Conservation Tax Incentive (posted 6/05/07)
In early 2007, the Land Trust Alliance submitted questions to the IRS and requested guidance on several questions regarding interpretation of the new law. See the Notice and the Alliance's shortened version here.
Alliance Seeks IRS Guidance on New Conservation Tax Incentive (posted 1/9/07)
In early January 2007, the Land Trust Alliance submitted a letter to the IRS Commissioner for Tax Exempt and Government Entities to ask for further guidance on outstanding questions regarding the expanded tax incentive for donations of conservation easements. Some of these questions include defining who can be a qualified farmer or rancher, and the applicability of the new law to gifts other than conservation easements. See the letter here.
New Information on Conservation Easement Law Cases (posted 12/1/06)
Information on three recent conservation easement cases including court documents is available here. This page will be updated as we get further law case information.
For more information, you can also read a speech on easements by the IRS Commissioner for Tax Exempt and Government Entities, or learn about changes to the tax forms land trusts use: the 8283 and the 990.(updated 6/9/2006)
Federal Policy PowerPoint from Rally 2007
Will the new tax incentive continue? Will every easement donation be audited? Will the Farm Bill increase easement funding?
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Lobbying 101
Land Trust Can - and SHOULD - Lobby!
Learn more about how to get involved in lobbying and advocacy. |
Visit the Protect Private Conservation page for information on the Joint Committee on Taxation's January 2005 recommendations - and the land trust community's response. |
Other News
In-Action: Advocacy for Conservation
30 national organizations representing millions of members, participated in the "Commit to Conservation" national call-in day on Thursday, Oct. 17th. View the ads that ran in Roll Call and The Hill on Oct. 17th. (PDF). The campaign asked members, which included Land Trust Alliance members, to call their senators and urge them to provide at least $5 BILLION in additional funding for conservation programs to meet farmer demand and keep existing programs in operation. The House provided nearly that much, but did not adequately fund all conservation programs. In addition to the ads, a radio spot was run on the National Association of Farm Broadcasters that featured Iowa farmer Jim Andrew. Mr. Andrew urged listeners to call their Senators and "lock up the Senate switch board" and provided the Senate switch board number. Listen to the radio spot. (MP3, 656k, 1.2 minutes) (posted 10/23/07)
Local, State and Federal Tax Incentives for Conservation Easements
Former South Carolina Director of Revenue, Burnet Maybank, published an excellent resource on tax incentives for conservation. It focuses on South Carolina law, but will be useful to anyone interested in conservation tax incentives.(posted 7/21/2006) View the PDF or learn more about other State Tax Credits
Land Trust Alliance
Hires Western Policy Manager
Land Trust Alliance
is delighted to welcome Lynne
Sherrod as the Western Policy Manager. Lynne
served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Cattlemen's
Agricultural Land Trust for the past nine years, an organization
that has partnered with more than 125 ranching families in the
protection of 225,000 acres.(posted 6/14/2006) More
Proper - and Improper - Deductions for Conservation Easement Donations, including Developer Donations
Stephen Small's recent article in Tax Notes reviews the tax law concerning donations of conservation easements, and highlights abuses of that law that are raising concerns with the IRS. (posted 11/12/04) More
Treasury and IRS Issue Notice Regarding Improper Deductions for Conservation Easement Donations
Public Policy Principles of the Land Trust Alliance
Maintaining open land is good public policy: open space helps everyone.
Good public policy fosters voluntary land conservation.
Public and private interests in land can and should be balanced.
Land trusts make strong conservation partners.
Learn more.
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courtesy of the USDA Image Gallery
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