WASHINGTON, July 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 welcomed an official revenue
estimate for the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity
Act.
According to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Tax, the
legislation to end abusive conservation easement tax shelters will
generate $6.6 billion in federal
revenue. The revenue estimate is predicated on the Charitable
Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act becoming law this
year.
"This revenue estimate uses the best available data to
illustrate how dramatically taxpayers have been bilked by bad
actors abusing a system our nation established to encourage
charitable giving. The nearly $7
billion estimate represents the known amount of abuse since
2016. If even more abuse comes to light, that number will surely
grow," said Andrew Bowman, the
Alliance's president & CEO.
"While the IRS has made combatting abusive deals an enforcement
priority, congressional action is urgently needed. We applaud Sen.
Steve Daines of Montana, a Republican, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, a Democrat, Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, a Republican, and Rep.
Mike Thompson of California, a Democrat, for introducing a
bipartisan solution. Their proposed legislation will effectively
shut down these egregious transactions and stop this drain on the
U.S. treasury.
"The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act is
fair, it is reasonable and, as we see from the revenue estimate, it
is essential to safeguard taxpayers from these bad actors."
Conservation easement donations, like other charitable
donations, are not intended to be profit opportunities. The
Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act makes clear
that point by eliminating the ability to profit from the donation
of a conservation easement on land held for a short period of
time.
As the revenue estimate reflects, the profiteering tied to
abusive conservation easement tax shelters is significant. IRS data
reveals that more than $20 billion in
tax deductions have been claimed since 2010. In 2016 alone,
$6 billion in unwarranted charitable
deductions was claimed. For context, that's more than six times the
authorized annual funding level for the Land and Water Conservation
Fund.
The revenue estimate comes at a time when multiple federal
actors are working to halt abusive conservation easement tax
shelters. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a Republican, and Ranking Member Ron
Wyden of Oregon, a Democrat,
announced earlier this year a probe that aims to shine a bright
light on abusive transactions that disguise a profitable tax
shelter as a charitable donation. That inquiry came just days after
the Internal Revenue Service named such transactions on its "dirty
dozen" list of tax scams to avoid. And in December, the U.S.
Department of Justice filed a complaint against promotors of an
allegedly abusive conservation easement syndication tax scheme.
That case is ongoing.
Multiple land conservation organizations have joined the
Alliance in announcing their support of the Charitable Conservation
Easement Program Integrity Act, including Ducks Unlimited, The
Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conservancy and Pheasants
Forever, among others. Within the appraisal industry, the Appraisal
Institute and the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural
Appraisers have voiced strong support for the legislation.
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