{"id":2007668,"date":"2023-08-22T00:53:04","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T04:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/irs-accused-of-backdating-penalty-approvals-in-crackdown-on-conservation-easement-tax-breaks\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T01:00:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T05:00:49","slug":"irs-accused-of-backdating-penalty-approvals-in-crackdown-on-conservation-easement-tax-breaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/irs-accused-of-backdating-penalty-approvals-in-crackdown-on-conservation-easement-tax-breaks\/","title":{"rendered":"IRS accused of backdating penalty approvals in crackdown on tax breaks for conservation easements."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Firs-accused-of-backdating-penalty-approvals-in-crackdown-on-conservation-easement-tax-breaks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2007668&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>IRS Accused of\u200b Backdating Penalty Approvals for \u200cConservation Tax Breaks<\/h2>\n<p>Court \u2064filings\u2064 have revealed\u200b that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is facing accusations from three Georgia\u200b businesses \u200bregarding\u200d backdated penalty approvals for improperly claimed tax breaks \u2062on conservation deals.<\/p>\n<p>The businesses\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/dawson.ustaxcourt.gov\/case-detail\/3817-23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Arden Row Assets, \u200bLLC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/dawson.ustaxcourt.gov\/case-detail\/3820-23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Basswood Partners, LLC<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dawson.ustaxcourt.gov\/case-detail\/3821-23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delwood\u2062 Partners, LLC<\/a>\u2014have filed petitions in the \u2064U.S. Tax Court, alleging that an IRS\u200b supervisor intentionally and improperly backdated approvals for millions of dollars in \u200d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/no-spike-in-florida-coronavirus-cases-despite-no-mask-mandate\/\" title=\"No Spike in Florida Coronavirus Cases Despite No Mask Mandate\">penalties related<\/a> to conservation easements.<\/p>\n<p>Conservation\u2063 easements\u200d are legal\u2063 agreements in which property owners agree to limit the use\u2064 of their land for conservation purposes. By donating these agreements to charity, they can claim tax breaks.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/irs-extends-tax-filing-payment-deadline-for-hawaii-wildfire-victims-5476566\">IRS Extends Tax Filing, Payment Deadline for Hawaii\u200c Wildfire Victims<\/a> \u200b (8\/19\/2023)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/irs-fails-to-plug-it-security-gaps-putting-taxpayer-data-at-risk-watchdog-5470007\">IRS Fails to Plug IT Security Gaps, Putting Taxpayer Data at Risk: Watchdog<\/a> \u2062(8\/16\/2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The IRS has been increasing\u200b scrutiny on conservation easements, citing \u200bpotential \u2063abuse such as\u2063 overvaluation.<\/p>\n<p>According\u200d to attorney Michael Todd Welty, who represents the three Georgia \u2064businesses, the IRS revenue agent&#8217;s supervisor \u200dbackdated his signature on penalty approval lead sheets. This \u2063action violates the law, which\u2062 requires IRS revenue agents to obtain\u2063 signed \u200capprovals from their supervisors before issuing penalty notices to \u200dtaxpayers, as stated in 26 U.S.C. \u00a7 6751(b)(1). The rule \u2062was implemented to prevent rogue IRS agents from \u2063using improper\u2062 tax penalties as leverage to\u2064 pressure taxpayers into settlements,\u2063 as outlined in a\u2064 Senate report (<a href=\"https:\/\/aboutblaw.com\/9KX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>In the filings,\u200c Mr. Welty \u200calleges that the supervisor &#8220;backdated the penalty consideration lead sheet\u200b for this Matter by exactly 8 months from March 14, 2022, to July 14,\u200b 2021.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>These recent filings are part of an\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-ducks-emergency-appeal-in-tennessee-abortion-case\/\" title=\"Supreme Court Ducks Emergency Appeal in Tennessee Abortion Case\">ongoing legal battle<\/a> against \u200cthe IRS\u200c initiated by the three businesses on March 21.\u200d Mr. Welty has requested that the tax agency admit to the accusations within 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS has not yet responded to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first time the IRS has\u200b faced allegations of backdating signatures on penalty approval sheets. In \u200ba case involving LakePoint Land\u2062 Group, also represented by Mr. Welty, \u200bthe IRS was accused of \u200cbackdating a document that determined penalties for the overvaluation of a conservation\u200b easement.<\/p>\n<p>LakePoint claimed that the \u200dIRS intentionally backdated the document and that IRS attorneys failed to inform the Tax Court about the backdating, attempting \u2064to conceal the \u2063use of the documents in penalty assessments.<\/p>\n<p>The IRS has\u2064 acknowledged an unintentional error in the LakePoint case, \u2062according to Politico.<\/p>\n<h2>Conservation\u2062 Easements<\/h2>\n<p>A\u2063 conservation easement is a\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/accusers-lawyer-says-cuomo-spread-falsehoods-and-inaccurate-information-at-press-conference\/\" title=\"Accuser\u2019s Lawyer Says Cuomo Spread \u2018Falsehoods And Inaccurate Information\u2019 At Press Conference\">legal agreement<\/a> that restricts the development or use of a property for conservation purposes, such\u2062 as protecting \u200cnatural habitats \u2064or preserving land for public\u2062 outdoor recreation or education.<\/p>\n<p>By\u200c transferring a conservation easement agreement to a charity, property owners can \u200bclaim a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/irs-accused-of-backdating-penalty-approvals-in-crackdown-on-conservation-easement-tax-breaks\/\" title=\"IRS accused of backdating penalty approvals in crackdown on tax breaks for conservation easements.\">charitable contribution deduction based<\/a> \u2064on the fair market value of the\u200b easement.<\/p>\n<p>However, the IRS has identified abuses of this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nonpartisan-economists-say-bidens-infrastructure-plan-will-decrease-economic-growth\/\" title=\"Nonpartisan Economists Say Biden\u2019s Infrastructure Plan Will Decrease Economic Growth\">tax provision<\/a>, with taxpayers, often influenced by promoters, claiming excessively\u200b large deductions for easements, as stated in the IRS guidelines\u200b on auditing conservation \u2063easements (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-pdf\/p5464.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Administering \u200band \u2064enforcing this tax provision has proven \u2063challenging for the IRS, leading to numerous legal disputes between\u2063 the agency and taxpayers, according to a study by the\u2064 Brookings Institution (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-soi\/17resconlooney.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>A specific subset known as syndicated conservation easements has drawn the attention of the IRS in recent\u2062 years. The agency\u200b suspects that some of these transactions are primarily used \u200dfor tax avoidance\u200b rather than genuine conservation efforts.<\/p>\n<p>Syndicated conservation easements \u200bhave\u2064 made the IRS&#8217;\u2063 &#8220;Dirty Dozen&#8221; \u2063list of tax scams and abusive practices. The IRS website warns that promoters syndicate \u200cthese transactions, offering investors the opportunity to claim charitable \u2064contribution deductions and significant tax\u2062 savings that \u200dexceed their \u200dactual investments. These arrangements aim to exploit \u200bthe tax \u200csystem with inflated deductions, generating substantial fees for promoters.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2019, the\u200c IRS announced \u2062a significant increase in\u2063 enforcement actions against syndicated conservation easements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court filings reveal that the IRS faces allegations from three Georgia businesses of retroactively approving penalties for tax breaks on conservation deals. Arden Row Assets, LLC, Basswood Partners, LLC, and Delwood Partners, LLC claim that an IRS supervisor deliberately and unlawfully manipulated the approval dates. The petitions were filed in the U.S. Tax Court last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":2007669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2007668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2007669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}