"Amid an ongoing debate on Capitol Hill over whether some private landowners are abusing a tax law aimed at encouraging conservation, a new analysis shows that — despite the price tags — the parcels being set aside help protect wildlife and habitat.
Researchers at American University's Washington College of Law examined nearly 76,000 acres of easements across 17 states in a study published today in Tax Notes Federal.
The survey focused on those easements established under Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows landowners to claim a tax deduction for donating property to nonprofit land trusts or other qualifying organizations.
"Of the 201 conservation easements we looked at, nature was better off by having all 201," explained Bill Snape, one of the study's authors and co-director of the law school's Program on Environmental and Energy Law. "Were some of them overbilled a little bit? Some, but not many.""
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