Conservation Easement Tax Credit Landowner Relief

Under current law, a state income tax credit is allowed for a portion of the value of a perpetual conservation easement that is granted by a taxpayer on real property located in Colorado. The bill restricts the ability of the executive director of the department of revenue to contest an appraisal and credit claimed for an easement donated prior to January 1, 2008, for which a final settlement has not been reached by July 1, 2016, unless:

• The executive director has produced clear and convincing evidence of an overvaluation of the easement, confirmed in writing by the state attorney general prior to a specified date; or
• The valuation is supported solely by an appraisal from an appraiser convicted of fraud or misrepresentation in connection with preparing the appraisal.

The law currently allows a conservation easement to be terminated in the same manner as any other easement. The bill specifies that, in addition, a court may exercise its equitable jurisdiction to terminate a conservation easement for which a tax credit has been claimed in certain circumstances if the claim has been rejected.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced and does not reflect any amendments that were subsequently adopted.)