Posted on 02/19/2025 9:36:55 PM PST by SeekAndFind
President Trump made headlines with his nomination of Rep. Billy Long of Missouri as the next IRS commissioner, signaling a new era for an agency mired in controversy. Trump has made no secret of his plans to reform the IRS, promising to rein in “bureaucratic overstepping” and put an end to its wasteful and abusive practices. If Billy Long is to fulfill that promise, a clear starting point should be addressing the IRS’s aggressive and misguided litigation strategy against conservation easements – one of the clearest examples of the agency’s overreach.
Conservation easements, a legal tax deduction codified by Congress, were designed to encourage land preservation by allowing property owners to claim tax benefits for voluntarily restricting development on their land. Yet the IRS has turned what was meant to be a win-win for conservation and taxpayers into a battlefield. Rather than evaluating these deductions on their merits, the IRS has adopted a one-size-fits-all approach, litigating nearly 100% of cases related to conservation easement deductions.
The result? A federal tax court system clogged with thousands of cases, some dragging on for years, with little to show for it.
At present, it is estimated that the Federal Tax Court has somewhere between 800 and 1,000 conservation easement cases docketed that are incredibly delayed. In a research study conducted in December of 2024, a sampling of 693 of the currently docketed Federal Tax Court cases showed the IRS using a one-size fits all approach to winning its litigation by assigning a zero-dollar value to the conserved properties, effectively nullifying 100% of all the taxpayer's claimed deductions for making their property donation.
The statistical improbability of the IRS adhering to its own Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in valuing the easement properties highlights significant ethical and performance concerns. This consistent disallowance of taxpayers' easement deductions raises important questions about potential undue influence within the Agency, prompting a need to investigate whether employees and external contractors are being directed to disregard individual case facts and established IRS guidelines.
President Trump made headlines with his nomination of Rep. Billy Long of Missouri as the next IRS commissioner, signaling a new era for an agency mired in controversy. Trump has made no secret of his plans to reform the IRS, promising to rein in “bureaucratic overstepping” and put an end to its wasteful and abusive practices. If Billy Long is to fulfill that promise, a clear starting point should be addressing the IRS’s aggressive and misguided litigation strategy against conservation easements – one of the clearest examples of the agency’s overreach.
Conservation easements, a legal tax deduction codified by Congress, were designed to encourage land preservation by allowing property owners to claim tax benefits for voluntarily restricting development on their land. Yet the IRS has turned what was meant to be a win-win for conservation and taxpayers into a battlefield. Rather than evaluating these deductions on their merits, the IRS has adopted a one-size-fits-all approach, litigating nearly 100% of cases related to conservation easement deductions.
The result? A federal tax court system clogged with thousands of cases, some dragging on for years, with little to show for it.
At present, it is estimated that the Federal Tax Court has somewhere between 800 and 1,000 conservation easement cases docketed that are incredibly delayed. In a research study conducted in December of 2024, a sampling of 693 of the currently docketed Federal Tax Court cases showed the IRS using a one-size fits all approach to winning its litigation by assigning a zero-dollar value to the conserved properties, effectively nullifying 100% of all the taxpayer's claimed deductions for making their property donation.
The statistical improbability of the IRS adhering to its own Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) in valuing the easement properties highlights significant ethical and performance concerns. This consistent disallowance of taxpayers' easement deductions raises important questions about potential undue influence within the Agency, prompting a need to investigate whether employees and external contractors are being directed to disregard individual case facts and established IRS guidelines.
Sheesh, another Republican member of Congress gone. The GOP only has a 5 seat majority in the House with some hardliners to boot. How's this going to make Mike Johnson's job any easier?
I think the IRS and policing are two areas where some of Canada’s practices are superior to the US.
There have to be other qualified people who do not help hold majorities in House and Senate. This is a problem.
He’s a former Congressman.
Back in the Obama days, the IRS was buying ammunition like crazy. I’m curious if that will be investigated
Democrats’ blind loyalty to party tribalism was never more apparent. They are fretting b/c one DOGE aide gets access to an IRS system, when they know full well an Inspector General September report detailed Biden authorized 53 researchers and student volunteers – and hundreds of additional individuals – to access unmasked IRS data.
DOGE REPORT—The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code
linking a Treasury payment to a budget line item (a standard financial process).
In the corrupt Biden Govt, the TAS field was optional for ~$4.7 Trillion in Treasury payments, left “blank,” making traceability almost impossible.
As of Saturday, Trump made this a required field, increasing taxpayers’ insight into where their money is actually going.
I am still fighting the IRS who sent me a bill for $6800 saying I owed it. They didn’t say why, couldn’t say how, and refused to work with me. My attorney said pay it first and fight it second before it becomes a felony in their eyes and accrues interest. It has been three years and NOt a damned word from those a holes. It is always, “in process.”
Thank you for posting.
Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve was never really been audited.
Am I the only person who wants every IRS “agent” stripped of everything they own and thrown into an internment camp as a lesson to anyone who wants to engage in this type of “career” again?
“Back in the Obama days, the IRS was buying ammunition like crazy. I’m curious if that will be investigated”
Billions of rounds for their private army.
“Democrats’ blind loyalty to party tribalism was never more apparent. They are fretting b/c one DOGE aide gets access to an IRS system, when they know full well an Inspector General September report detailed Biden authorized 53 researchers and student volunteers – and hundreds of additional individuals – to access unmasked IRS data.”
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4298997/posts?page=7#7
True. Greatly appreciating your comment.
I also appreciate DOGE REPORT—The Treasury Access Symbol (TAS) is an identification code will now link a Treasury payment to a budget line item (a standard financial process) to increase taxpayers’ insight into where their money is actually going!!!!
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