Posted by
warrior on Monday, December 08, 2008 1:08:27 AM
U.S. Set to Take Coloradans Land Without Compensation
By Fred Kelly Grant
At this very hour, Colorado landowners are fighting to prevent the
United States federal government from taking their land. Ignored by the
mass media, hundreds of farmers and ranchers in southeastern Colorado
are facing loss of their property at the hands of the IRS. They are
victims of “conservation easements” promoted by federal and state
governments, land trust companies, and conservation groups.
As
landowners dedicated to preserving the open, agricultural use of their
land, lured into the “easements” by both the U.S. and Colorado
governments, they have been betrayed by those they trusted.
A
“conservation easement” is an easement in name only. It is an agreement
by a landowner to give up the right to develop his or her land for
residential, commercial or industrial use. He/she agrees to keep the
land in agricultural use FOREVER, and in return is rewarded either with
cash payment for the development value, or income tax relief to the
amount of the appraised value of the development rights.
The
federal government and the state of Colorado offered inducements for
execution of the “easements” by which the landowners donated their land
to various land trusts to be held for agricultural use IN PERPETUITY.
They accepted the following offers of income tax relief, conditioned
upon execution of the easements: federal income tax deductions, and tax
credits from Colorado income tax, or the right to sell such tax credits
to third parties or the State itself.
In reliance on
commitments from the two governments, the landowners donated their land
to various land trusts, mainly for two reasons: they wanted to preserve
their land as agricultural land forever, and they faced cash flow
problems which could be helped by the tax relief. So, they gave away
the value of development rights in exchange for tax relief. In most
cases, the development rights were far more valuable, money wise, than
the assessed land value. But, the landowners placed their desire for
continued agricultural use above the interest in a future much higher
profit.
The landowners followed the rules. They engaged
consultants to help them put together the donation package. They hired
appraisers certified by the state of Colorado as honest, ethical, and
competent. They had certified public accountants review the appraisals
and their financial situations. They hired lawyers to make sure the law
was followed in the transactions.
They asked that all this
professional help assure them that the Land Trust company, which would
own the easement, was trustworthy.
But, after two to three years,
one of the donee Land Trusts invited the IRS to review the easement
appraisals. That invitation didn’t worry the landowners because they
had obtained professional assistance and had been assured they were
following the rules.
But, suddenly the IRS announced
disqualifications of “easements,” claiming that the appraisals of
development rights were highly over stated. The State of Colorado
called into question the licenses of several appraisers (all appraisers
who have sought full reinstatement have been successful), and the mass
media began to talk of a “scandal,” and “sham” appraisals, and cast the
landowners as greedy people looking for windfalls. The media reached
its libelous conclusions without reviewing the files and determining
the facts. But, what’s new? As Will Rogers said, “If you don’t read the
newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are
misinformed.”
In one case, for example, the appraisal of the
development rights was challenged by an IRS employee who claimed that
the appraiser did not use any comparable realty values in the vicinity.
The statement is either an outright lie, or the grossest negligence in
history. Within a quarter-mile of the appraised land is a subdivision
of high scale homes, and within a half mile is a subdivision of even a
higher scale homes situated on a finely groomed golf course.
The
appraised land is within two miles of the city limits and a regional
hospital. The landowner has water rights that accompany the appraised
land, and the land has available water access, which would serve
residential parcels very efficiently. Whether the IRS conclusion is a
lie may rest on the fact that the federal employee judging the
appraised value is not an appraiser, and has been exposed to land
appraisal training for a solid two hours.
The IRS has demanded
payment of back taxes, plus penalties and interest. In some cases, the
demand is higher than the value of the landowners’ property, now that
the “easements” have devalued the property. The third parties who
bought state tax credits have demanded return of their money. The state
of Colorado has turned its back on the landowners, which it lured into
the conservation easements. The Governor’s office turns back requests
for assistance with the spurious claim that the matter is a “federal”
issue. The Secretary of Agriculture, who lives among the troubled
landowners, ignores the problem.
The landowners cannot borrow
money to satisfy the “return” demands. The banks will not lend money
because of the conservation easements, which devalue the land.
The landowners cannot sell their land, or any portion of their land.
Buyers are not willing to take on the restrictions and devaluation of
the land resulting from the conservation easements. One of the ranchers
had a sale in place for a portion of his property. The sale price would
have allowed him to replace at least 75 percent of his imminent loss,
but the buyer backed out because of the conservation easement.
As
the federal and state governments pursue destruction of these
landowners, they continue to promote conservation easements. Land Trust
companies and conservation groups continue to promote conservation
easements, and the Congress created tax incentives in the new Farm Bill
that will lure other landowners into reliance on a government, which
has proved unreliable.
Colorado at this moment faces a huge
federal take-over of private land, which will remove thousands of acres
from the tax rolls of the counties. And, the problem in southeastern
Colorado is only the tip of the iceberg. There are over 1,800 of these
conservation easements throughout Colorado. In the blink of an eye,
Colorado can be victimized by massive federal take-overs.
The
problem facing Coloradans and Colorado is the beginning of what can be,
and will be, a national crisis resulting from transfer of private
ownership of land to the United States Government. Counties will suffer
from loss of tax revenue; the landscape will suffer from negligent
management by federal agencies; the species in the ecosystems will
suffer from negligent management; and the law will suffer from a
blatant disregard for the constitutional limits on federal government
ownership and requirements that property is not taken without just
compensation.
All the horrible results from imposition of
conservation easements, which private property organizations including
Stewards of the Range and the American Land Foundation have emphasized,
have come to fruition in southeastern Colorado. They lay ahead for
unsuspecting landowners across the Nation.
What you can do to help:
As the governments and Land Trusts turn their backs on the landowners,
all individuals in the nation can help. You can call, fax and email
your Representatives and Senators who are seeking re-election. You can
ask them what they are doing, or will do, to protect private landowners
as they protected big business in the massive “bail out” of Wall
Street. You can tell them that your vote depends on their willingness
to help. You can demand of incumbents that there will be field hearings
to determine the truth as to the inadequacy of the IRS reviews. You can
demand that they hold field hearings to inquire into, and “fix”, the
fraud that is evident on the part of the promoters of the conservation
easements.
If you live in Colorado, you can call, fax and email
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Governor, demanding that they
“fix” the problem caused by fraud perpetrated on the landowners. And,
you can write letters to the local and regional newspapers and
television stations demanding that they determine the facts, rather
than relying on press statements by leaders of the Land Trusts who are
complicit in the threat to the landowners. The landowners are ready and
willing to show the press the facts as they did to me.
Fred
Kelly Grant serves as president of Stewards of the Range and has
practiced law for over 50 years. He, along with Stewards of the Range
and American Land Foundation are assisting landowners nationwide on
property rights issues.
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http://stewards.wordpress.com
This article was distributed by Liberty Matters, Stewards of the Range and the American Land Foundation.
American Land Foundation
PO Box 1033
Taylor, Texas 76574
512-365-2699
Stewards of the Range
PO Box 1190
Taylor, Texas 76574
512-365-8038
www.stewards.u