I’m a flat tax guy like Steve Forbes, chairman and editor-in-chief, Forbes Media and author of "Flat Tax Revolution," so in an ideal world, we wouldn’t stuff the IRS tax code with special tax breaks and instead would have one simple, low rate of 18% for everyone.
But if Congress passes tax laws steering people and businesses into certain activities, it can’t just snatch those incentives away indiscriminately. This is called a "bait-and-switch" trap, and here’s a perfect example of such a misdeed.
More than 60 years ago, the IRS created a program called a conservation easement through a revenue ruling. Its goal was to protect nature, stop development, and save working lands. Landowners received a tax incentive for voluntarily setting aside a portion of their land from development. The law has been in effect since 1976 — nearly 50 years. The tax break was made permanent in 1980 and has been part of the tax code ever since.
To further encourage this land preservation policy, individuals, business partnerships and corporations were permitted to donate to these land easements in exchange for a tax write-off. The result? Tens of millions of acres have been conserved.