Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) released its annual general report on November 18, 2009

As a service to the IRS and taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) released its annual general report on November 18, 2009.  IRSAC is a diverse group of some thirty, mostly private-sector tax practitioners that the IRS assembles to provide public input on various IRS issues.  In this year's report the Council first addressed the issue of "IRS Challenges to Deductions for Historic Preservation Easements," summarizing their findings and recommendations as follows:

"There is a belief that the current program, in which the IRS takes a very strict view regarding the value of these donations, is having the effect of diluting the intent of Section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides for a tax incentive by means of a charitable deduction for the donation of an historic easement. The current IRS audit effort strains the agency's resources and may fail to distinguish between a legitimate deduction authorized by statute and an abusive tax shelter. Among the changes IRSAC recommends are a [10%] safe-harbor audit policy and subject to the requirements of FACA, creation of an expert easement advisory board."

Click here to read the Entire IRSAC 2009 General Report and the 2009 six listed recommendations from the IRSAC made to the IRS.

Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council 2009 General Report	November 18, 2009	article