You don’t have to dig deep or far to find corruption in non profit organizations. Most people would agree that there is plenty of profit to be made in non-profits for the wealthy supporters, trustees and board members.

Seems the IRS is taking a closer look into conservation land deals. It kinda goes as so… a company buys land for conservation purposes, the land is not historic nor serves much environmental value, they then sell the land at a discount, after adding a few “conservation” restrictions towards its development. The land is sold to trustees at a discount and the trustee then makes a tax deductible “cash gift” to the company in the amount of the difference. The trustee gains the land at a considerable savings due to the “so called” money gift tax deduction they made to the company they purchased it from.

The IRS is having an issue with that procedure because the tax gifts are worth more that the restriction placed on the land.

I gotta wonder what some of the restrictions are…. maybe they only chop down 90%  of the trees instead of all of them. Thumbs up for not for profit conservation groups.

RS Toughens Scrutiny of Land Gifts
By Joe Stephens and David B. Ottaway
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 1, 2004; Page A01

TThe Internal Revenue Service announced yesterday that it is cracking
down on improper tax deductions taken by people who give real estate and
cash to environmental groups, warning that taxpayers could face
penalties and charities could lose their tax-exempt status.

The IRS is specifically targeting gifts of “conservation easements” -
deed restrictions that limit some types of real estate development. The
easements have become the environmental movement’s key tool for
preserving fragile ecosystems and millions of acres of open space.

The IRS is focusing on easements that have questionable public benefit
or have been manipulated to generate inflated deductions.

“We’ve uncovered numerous instances where the tax benefits of preserving
open spaces and historic buildings have been twisted for inappropriate
individual benefit,” IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a
statement. “Taxpayers who want to game the system and the charities that
assist them will be called to account.”

The IRS warned that it intends to levy penalties on charity executives
and board members who collect or knowingly help secure improper
deductions claimed in connection with such transactions.

The announcement did not name individual taxpayers or charities. It
comes as the IRS is conducting a major audit of the Arlington-based
Nature Conservancy, the world’s largest environmental organization.

The Washington Post reported last year that the Conservancy had
repeatedly bought land, added some development restrictions, and then
resold the properties at reduced prices to its trustees and other
supporters. The buyers made cash gifts to the Conservancy roughly equal
to the difference in price, thereby qualifying for substantial tax
deductions - just as if they had given money to their local charity.

The Conservancy said the sales prices were proper because the
development restrictions reduced the market value of the tracts. In the
wake of the news articles, however, the Conservancy announced that it
would no longer conduct such deals with its board members and trustees.

Sheldon Cohen, a former IRS commissioner now working as a private lawyer
in Washington, called yesterday’s announcement an unusually strong
action. He said, “It is pretty obvious who it is aimed at.”

Conservancy spokesman James Petterson said yesterday that executives
there were studying the IRS action.

“The Nature Conservancy over the last decade has received several legal
opinions reflecting other interpretations of the law,” Petterson said.
“We are reviewing what the IRS issued, assessing its impact on our
programs and determining appropriate actions.”

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