June 12, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Nonprofit organizations have won an extension of a generous tax incentive for donations of land and property that are important for conservation or historic purposes.
A two-year extension of the so-called conservation-easement deduction was included in a bill to protect farmers, which became law over President Bush’s veto.
The provision, created as a temporary, two-year incentive under the Pension Protection Act, expired at the end of last year. Conservation groups, including the Land Trust Alliance — a Washington group with 1,100 member land trusts — lobbied Congress to make the provision permanent, saying it does much to spur property donations.
More than a million acres of land have been protected from development as a result of the expanded tax incentive, said Russ Shay, public-policy director of the Land Trust Alliance.
Landowners now have until December 31, 2009, to take advantage of the tax break when they donate ranches, wetlands, forests, and other properties for conservation.
