ACTION ALERT

TAKE ACTION TO STOP TAX SHELTER ABUSES

The land conservation work of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, along with many land trusts, is made possible by the generosity of conservation-minded individuals, including our members and donors of conservation easements.

Recently, bad actors in other parts of the country have been exploiting the rules and abusing conservation tax incentives in order to personally profit.  This behavior risks undermining the legitimate uses of easements as effective conservation tools.

 


We Need Your Help!

Please call or email your member of Congress today and ask them to co-sponsor the bipartisan Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017 (H.R. 4459) and (S. 2436), which would crack down on these abusive tax-shelter transactions.

If your representative or senator is already a co-sponsor, please thank them for taking action and let them know this issue is important!

 

Points to make in your call or email can include:

WPC - Easement Properties
  • Conservation easements are a way land trusts protect wildlife habitat, scenic and recreational areas, and working forests and farmland, while keeping lands in private ownership.
  • Conservation easements are voluntary agreements between landowners and charitable organizations.
  • Recently, unethical promoters have been exploiting the rules around easements by packaging them as tax-shelter transactions. This is NOT what conservation easements were created for!
  • R. 4459, The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act of 2017, will help strengthen enforcement and oversight.
  • Please co-sponsor H.R. 4459.

 

You can find contact information for your representative in Congress by visiting this directory and entering your zip code: https://www.house.gov/representatives

 

Thank you for your help in supporting and strengthening local conservation efforts.