WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, today joined 11 other organizations in calling for immediate passage of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act.
In a letter sent to congressional leaders, a coalition of the leading conservation and appraisal organizations says legislation to stop abuse of the federal incentive for conservation easement donations is "urgently needed and long overdue." Between 2010 and 2016, investors in abusive transactions claimed more than $20 billion in bogus deductions, with billions more expected this year.
"We stand united in our support for the pending legislation, which is the fastest and most efficient way to stop this abuse and save taxpayers billions of dollars," the letter says.
Signers include the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, American Society of Appraisers, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Appraisal Institute, The Conservation Fund, Ducks Unlimited, the Land Trust Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, Partnership of Rangeland Trusts, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and The Trust for Public Land.
The bipartisan Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act (S. 170 and H.R. 1992) strikes at the heart of abusive transactions. It makes clear that conservation easement donations, like other charitable donations, are not intended to be profit opportunities. Moreover, the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Tax says the bill will generate $6.6 billion in federal revenue. That revenue estimate is predicated on the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act becoming law this year.
Multiple efforts have been made to curtail abusive transactions. One year ago, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint against promotors of an allegedly abusive conservation easement syndication tax scheme. In March, the Senate Finance Committee announced a probe of conservation tax benefit abuse. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service named abusive transactions on its "dirty dozen" list of tax scams to avoid and indicated a criminal investigation is underway. Still, promoters of these abusive transactions have been undeterred.
The letter to congressional leaders notes that "many promoters and investors continue to flout the government's attempts to curb these abuses," and that is why passage of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act is necessary.
More information about this issue is available at https://www.lta.org/integrity.
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at http://www.landtrustalliance.org.
SOURCE Land Trust Alliance
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