INCENTIVES FOR EMPLOYING CONSERVATION EASEMENTS IN WASHINGTON STATE

摘要

Conservation easements are the most popular tool used by United States land trusts to conserve private land (LTA 2004). Part of the appeal of easements is that landowners can deduct the value of the donated easement as a charitable contribution, thereby reducing their income for federal income tax purposes (Georgia Environmental Policy Institute 1994). However, land trusts' practices and conservation easements are being scrutinized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (Miller 2006), largely because of The Washington Post's prolonged critique of The Nature Conservancy's financial dealings (Stephens and Ottaway 2003, 2005).