The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 21 - Conservation Easement Donations: Tax Shelter or Charitable Contribution Deduction?
The Koontz Decision: Limits Conditions a Government can Impose on Developers
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the IRS was confronted with a proliferation of corporate transactions that it viewed as aggressive tax shelters. Relying on the authority Congress delegated through Section 6011(a), the IRS...more
Polsinelli’s Government Investigations and Tax attorneys continue to follow the well-known Fisher case, the Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) first criminal indictment related to syndicated conservation easements. The trial is...more
Polsinelli’s Government Investigations and Tax attorneys continue to follow the well-known Fisher case, the Department of Justice’s ("DOJ") first criminal indictment related to syndicated conservation easements. Walter...more
“If it is a conservation easement and the people who are receiving the deduction are outside of family...the IRS assumption is that it's a tax shelter.” A backlog of conservation easement Tax Court cases and IRS audits are...more
Less than a month after the heavily followed Green Valley Investors, LLC, et al., decision, the IRS issued proposed regulations to identify certain syndicated conservation easement transactions as listed transactions – this...more
On September 21, 2022, the New York State Attorney General Tish James filed a civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and the Trump organization alleging fraud and misrepresentation. The Complaint described a...more
On March 28, 2022, President Biden announced his 2023 federal budget (Budget), which is often referred to as the President’s Green Book. While much of the Budget harkens back to the “Build Back Better Framework” (Framework),...more
Senate Finance Committee launches investigation, while anti-syndication bill is introduced in the House and Senate....more
The Department of Justice has finally filed a civil complaint against certain promoters who have been spearheading syndicated easements to the tune of over $2 billion in claimed federal tax deductions using grossly inflated...more
Last week, Representative Mike Kelly (R) of Pennsylvania and Representative Mike Thompson (D) of California introduced the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017 as H.R. 4459. The Act is simple;...more
In Notice 2017-10, the IRS has determined that certain conservation easements are now “listed transactions” for purposes of federal tax reporting. “Syndicated” conservation easements are conservation easements donated by a...more