The head of the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee said Tuesday he is worried the broad investigation into conservation easements in Colorado will discourage more people from preserving their land.
“Right now, folks are afraid — at least in my area — to donate these easements,” said Rep. Bernie Buescher, D-Grand Junction. “They’re afraid the IRS will audit them. So I think the chilling effect is a problem.”
Buescher’s comments came during a budget hearing for the state’s Department of Revenue. The department is one of several in Colorado investigating along with the Internal Revenue Service whether some landowners have abused the conservation easement program through inflated appraisal values on their land.
Landowners who place a conservation easement on their property receive tax breaks, and an overvalued appraisal shorts the state on taxes. The Department of Revenue announced this week that so far, roughly 600 Coloradans face $14.6 million in state tax liabilities as a result of the ongoing investigation.
Buescher is one of several elected officials recently who — while supporting efforts to eliminate abuse — have expressed concerns the investigation may hurt the conservation easement program.
Revenue Department executive drector Roxy Huber said the department is working with a task force to develop policies that will strengthen the program and eliminate abuse.
“It’s a good program,” Huber said after the hearing. “So our desire is to create a world everybody can work within.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
