Conservation
Easements and Colorado’s Tax Credit
Program
Conservation
Easement Tax Credit Task Force
NEW
ERA OF CONSERVATION 2008
CCLT
Policy Conference Information
A
New Era of Conservation- 2008: CCLT’s
2008 Policy Conference is being held at
the Colorado History Museum in Denver, Colorado,
on February 26th-27th. Governor
Bill Ritter is currently scheduled as our
keynote speaker. Attend
sessions covering IRS audits, media training,
Colorado tax credits, and much more! Enjoy
cocktails and appetizers with legislators
on Tuesday evening and lunch with legislators
on Wednesday afternoon. Check
back regularly for more information and
watch your mail for an invitation. See you
there!
Thanks
for making “Brews, Boots, and Bucks”
a huge success!
Special thanks to our sponsors
and host committee members for their generous
support.
Evaluating
and Selecting Conservation Projects Workshops
Click
here for information!
The Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts would
like to thank Community Banks of Colorado, the
Colorado Conservation Trust, and the Land Trust
Alliance for their generous support for these
workshops. The CCLT presented these trainings
for its member land trusts and local government
programs as part of a capacity-building initiative
and preparation for accreditation. Thank you
to everyone who attended!”
Breaking
News in Conservation!
- LTA
Grass Roots Tax Incentive Fact Sheet - Support
HR 1576 or S 469
- Isaacson
Rosenbaum Releases Conservation
Alert on HB07-1361 and SB 98
- Governor
Ritter Signed House Bill 1361 into Law!
- House
Bill 1361 - Concerning the Implementation of
Additional Requirements to Verify the Validity
of a State Income Tax Credit Claimed by a Taxpayer
for Donating a Conservation Easement in the
State - Passed Through the House and On the
Way to the Senate!
- The
Natural Resource Ecology Lab (NREL), in conjunction
with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), releases
COMaP Version 6, a statewide inventory of protected
lands in Colorado.
- Governor
Ritter Signed Senate Bill 98 Into Law
Check
back often for updates!
Recent
Changes to IRS Tax Forms
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GUIDANCE
ON PHASING
Attached
please find a new publication from the Colorado Coalition
of Land Trusts: Guidance
on the Phasing of Conservation Easements. Included
as attachments to the document are: 1) Internal
Revenue Code Section 170(h); 2) Treasury
Regulations Section 1.170A-14; and 2) the Colorado
Department of Revenue’s recently updated FYI
Income 39.
As many of you are aware, one of the issues that Colorado’s conservation organizations have struggled with is how to address the phenomenon of phasing easements on a single property over time. Several years ago CCLT issued a white paper entitled: “Advice for Colorado Land Trusts and Local Governments Regarding the Colorado Income Tax Credit” which dealt in part with the phasing issue. Many of our members have since asked us to revisit this issue and provide further guidance on phasing if possible.
In
response, we convened a working group of conservation
practitioners and consultants from around the state
to discuss the problem and to develop additional guidelines.
This document is a product of their hard work and valuable
insights over the past several months. I want to thank
all of the members of the working group listed below,
and in particular. I want to thank Shannon Meyer of
the Aspen Valley Land Trust for chairing the working
group and for her excellent work in seeing this project
through.
As the members of the working group will tell you, establishing specific guidelines that are applicable state-wide was indeed a challenge. In fact, because of their different geographies and perspectives, members of the working group could not agree on several issues such as hard caps on the number of acceptable phases, as so many of the issues are specific to a particular project and organization. Moreover, there was an overall feeling that any phased project—regardless of size—should be closely scrutinized by the organization accepting the easement.
Through
this process, two additional things were readily apparent:
1) the incentive to phase a transaction over multiple
years is driven in large part by the unique structure
of our state tax credit program, specifically the tiered
structure and overall caps. While addressing this policy
component of the program was not the purpose of the
working group, it is clear that at least some of the
phasing pressures could be abated by modestly restructuring
the tax credit program; and 2) land trusts and public
agencies are operating in an atmosphere of increasing
public scrutiny of charitable contributions of all kinds.
It is in all our interests to maximize the public benefit
of conservation projects and to conduct these transactions
in an ethical and technically sound manner. Phased or
not, each easement must have legitimate conservation
purposes to qualify for state or federal tax benefits,
and organizations should not accept any easement where
it questions the public benefit of the transaction.
I
hope you find this document of value to your conservation
efforts. Please don’t hesitate to call with any
questions.
303-271-1577
Members
of the Phasing Working Group:
Shannon
Meyer (Chair), Aspen Valley Land Trust
Dieter Erdmann, Colorado Open Lands
K-Lynn Cameron and Jerry White, Larimer County Open
Space
Don Glaser, Douglas County Land Conservancy
Dave Nichols, Montezuma Land Conservancy
Arnie
Butler, Arnie
Butler & Company
Allan Beezley, Allan C. Beezley, P.C.
Kris William Larson, Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts
COLORADO
COALITION OF LAND TRUSTS
Conserving Important Lands in Colorado
Desiring
one voice for the land conservation community, a group
of conservation practitioners and land trust executive
directors formed the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts
(CCLT). CCLT's primary focus is influencing public policy,
increasing awareness of the importance of land conservation
and ensuring land conservation excellence.
The
Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts (CCLT) has become
a powerful force in Colorado. CCLT, as a leading authority
in land conservation, has an impressive track record
in creating new state incentives, developing effective
public policy, increasing awareness to support private
land conservation in Colorado and promoting land conservation
excellence.
For
14 years, CCLT has played a vital role in conserving
land in Colorado. As an umbrella organization, CCLT
has been actively working with land conservation organizations
in Colorado to protect over 720,000 acres of land. CCLT
demonstrates that by working together we can advance
the land conservation movement and ensure that Colorado's
spectacular landscapes are protected.
While
the land conservation movement in Colorado has been
successful, it is faced with new challenges. Colorado
is one of the fastest growing states in the nation,
with a population that is predicted to grow by approximately
one million people by 2020. Prime farmland and ranches
are being taken out of production at a rate of approximately
100,000 acres a year; scenic views are being destroyed
and valuable water resources face increased development
pressures. A recent study identified over 1.6 million
acres of important lands in Colorado that need protection
in the next five years.
CCLT
is here to make sure we are successful in conserving
scenic views, working ranches, wildlife habitat, trails
and water resources. To conserve these important lands,
it is critical that we accelerate land conservation
now. Help us Conserve Colorado by making a charitable
gift to CCLT and supporting a nonprofit land trust or
public open space program in your community.
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