IRS Approval Comes in Time for $7.5 Million Easement Penalty (1)

The IRS satisfied a requirement to get a supervisor’s approval of its initial determination to assert a nearly $7.5 million penalty against a conservation easement donor, the US Tax Court ruled Monday.

Dorchester Farms Property LLC was fighting the 40% penalty imposed by the Internal Revenue Service under tax code Section 6662(h) for allegedly grossly misvaluing the easement it donated, as well as an alternative 20% penalty for a substantial misvaluation. The Monday ruling, which granted an IRS motion for partial summary judgment, only addressed whether the IRS satisfied the supervisory approval requirement under Section 6751(b) in the case ...