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I am not a tax lawyer, but public benefit doesn't just have to mean it's open for the public to hike through. I would imagine one could argue it's acting as a w

I am not a tax lawyer, but public benefit doesn't just have to mean it's open for the public to hike through. I would imagine one could argue it's acting as a wildlife preserve, protecting views, etc. Even if the IRS came back and said the public must be granted access one could argue that they need to make improvements to the park to make it suitable for public use, and then drag their feet making said improvements. Once the improvements have actually been done they can do things like have the park only open weekdays 10am-4pm, charge for hiking permits, etc.

prostoalex 8y ago
This older article suggests that while all of such things are possible, they attract higher level of interest from the IRS https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2011/nov/20103603.html https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2011/nov/2010360... "From 2003 through 2007 approximately 3,000 tax returns per year contained a charitable deduction for donation of a qualified conservation contribution. During this time and since, the IRS has continued to scrutinize deductions for contributions of conservation easements, often challenging them on issues including the quality of the appraiser and/or appraisal, the appraisal technique employed, failure to comply with substantiation requirements or protection of the conservation purpose. Tax practitioners need to be aware of the rules and procedures to successfully support these transactions and their tax treatment. They must be able to select a qualified appraiser and assess an appraisal for compliance with procedural and substantiation requirements. Then they must be able to structure and document these transactions appropriately and correctly calculate the deduction."