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CONSERVATION CORNER
(For the week of July 27, 2009)
Conservation Tax Center
by James L. Cummins

The Conservation Tax Center (CTC), a Resources First Foundation (www.resourcesfirstfoundation.org) initiative mentioned last week, can be found at www.conservationtaxcenter.org. It will provide you with up to date information and analysis of tax and estate planning laws, codes and related information. The site has a library of articles and papers that are written by the best in the business. These articles will help you to understand the federal and state tax incentives and estate planning issues associated with charitable donations of land and conservation easements. The CTC also includes technical articles and papers which address current issues and topics for the conservation minded professional.

In the Introductory Articles section, you can find information pertaining to tax and conservation issues written in simple terms, making them easy to understand.

In the Articles for Professionals section, you can find technical articles and papers written for industry professionals. These articles will answer questions and help with tax planning or estate management pursuits relating to land conservation and management of real estate assets.

The Connect With Local Counsel section can put you in touch with local, experienced attorneys that can help you with your conservation related objectives. You will be able to locate an attorney in your state and an explanation of their services (if available) and their contact information.

The CTC provides critical tax provision information in both lay terms for the private landowner, as well as definitive legal expert text. Tax law today, like everything else, is becoming dauntingly complex, and as the recent tax legislation packages make clear, is changing rapidly with enormous ramifications for individual landowners and corporations.

CTC is organized in accordance with landowner and professional needs, provides listings and contact information for over 800 lawyers and estate planners nationwide and regularly posts updates to critical tax code information. CTC features current information such as the tax incentives passed in the 2008 Farm Bill, which raises the deduction a donor can take for donating a voluntary conservation agreement from 30 percent of their income in any year to 50 percent, allow farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income and increase the number of years over which a donor can take deductions from 5 to 15 succeeding years.

Visit www.conservationtaxcenter.org to learn more about incorporating land conservation into your tax and estate planning strategies.