May 23, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Washington
Nonprofit organizations have won an extension of a generous tax incentive for donations of land or historically important property under a law approved by Congress Thursday.
A two-year extension of the so-called conservation easement deduction was included in a bill to protect farmers, which became law Thursday 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 donations of property.
More than a million acres of land have been protected from development as a result of the expanded tax incentive, says 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.
