Governor to push land conservation tax credits

Perdue to speak today in Bleckley County

TELEGRAPH STAFF WRITERGov. Sonny Perdue will propose today a new state conservation tax credit that would act as an incentive for landowners to protect their property from development.

The governor is expected to announce the credit at the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area in Bleckley County.

If approved by the state Legislature, the tax break would be available to individuals or corporations who donate land or development rights to the state, local governments or a nonprofit group such as a land trust.

According to a news release from Perdue's office, the credit would be worth 25 percent of the fair market value of the donation, up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a corporation. If the credit is more than the landowner owes in state income tax, the unused portion could be carried over for up to five years.

" Without a doubt, that would stimulate interest and open up new avenues," said Bill Hodges, president of the Ocmulgee Land Trust. The trust holds conservation easements donated by landowners along the Ocmulgee River corridor and its tributaries.

Although still relatively new, the trust is working with a handful of landowners on potential conservation easements, Hodges said.

"I think this will help some people who have talked with us about their interest to make that decision," he said.

Amy Tidwell, public outreach chairwoman for the Central Georgia Rivers Partnership, said the program could encourage landowners to protect the Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area in Houston County or reduce pockets of private ownership in the Oconee National Forest north of Macon.

Land would only be eligible for the tax credit if a Georgia Department of Natural Resources evaluation determines that the property offers conservation benefits such as protecting water quality, prime farm and forest land, historic and cultural sites or recreation opportunities.
Perdue also plans to announce today that his fiscal 2007 budget includes an additional $5 million for the Georgia land conservation program, established last year with $100 million to operate a trust fund and revolving loan fund.

One of the first purchases made through the program was 1,683 acres that are now permanently part of the Ocmulgee Wildlife Management Area in Twiggs and Bleckley counties. According to Perdue's office, the governor will be announcing the new tax credit initiative at the Ocmulgee WMA campground pond, which was part of the $3.3 million acquisition.

The Ocmulgee WMA land was open for public hunting until it was sold by timber company Weyerhaeuser in 2003. The company got rid of all its Georgia property, including Houston County's popular Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, which is now being marketed by a consortium of Warner Robins developers.

"Unfortunately, this (tax incentive) came along after the Weyerhaeuser land sales, and some damage was already done in central Georgia," Tidwell said. "But if it would make it possible to protect Oaky Woods, that would be wonderful."

The two management areas, which are across the Ocmulgee River from each other, are home to a significant portion of Middle Georgia's large black bear population.

Tidwell suggested the new tax credit might benefit hunters who purchased former Ocmulgee WMA land, offering a financial incentive not to sell it for development while allowing the owners to maintain exclusive hunting rights.

Like Weyerhaeuser, International Paper has also announced plans to sell large tracts of land in Georgia. Tidwell said she's unsure how much the tax incentive would help large timber companies trying to escape the burden of high property taxes. The tax credit might not be enough when land, such as Oaky Woods, is extremely valuable, she said.

But Jill Johnson, environmental advocate for the nonprofit Georgia Public Interest Research Group, said the credit could act as a temporary financial cushion for companies that need tax relief - buying time for local or state officials to raise money to purchase the land.

Georgia would become the 11th state to offer a conservation tax credit. Others in the South are Mississippi, the Carolinas and Virginia, according to the governor's office. Perdue spokesman Shane Hix said Georgia's tax credit is based on North Carolina's.
Johnson praised North Carolina's model.

"We think it will appeal to fiscal conservatives because it's more bang for your state's buck," she said. "It's a better deal than purchasing land."

Here's how that works: According to the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, since 1983 about $340 million in tax credits was given for 138,000 donated acres. But those credits leveraged larger donations that topped the tax credit's cap, resulting in $165 million in donations that taxpayers didn't subsidize and the state didn't pay for.

"Georgia has a strong tradition of private land ownership and private conservation that we want to honor and uphold," Perdue said in a news release, citing the land conservation program he authored last year. "The Georgia land conservation tax credit will further the use of this free market approach to conservation."

Johnson said Georgia PIRG heard overwhelming support for the conservation tax credit idea among the 30,000 Georgians the organization canvassed door-to-door this summer.To contact S. Heather Duncan, call (478) 744-4225 or e-mail hduncan@macontel.com.

***
How the tax credit would work
Here's an example:
In the case of a conservation easement, a retired forester enters into a legal agreement with a local land trust to permanently restrict development on 41 acres of forestland he owns. By limiting the land's development potential, this legal agreement - a conservation easement - reduced the fair market value of the land from $220,000 to $140,000, a difference of $80,000. Since the $80,000 donation represents a gift to the land trust, the retired forester would be eligible for a 25 percent income tax credit on his gift of $80,000 or a tax credit of $20,000. If his state tax liability on $30,000 in income before the gift is $1,500, his tax liability is reduced to zero for the year in which he made the gift. He can continue to reduce his tax liability for five more years, realizing $9,000 of the potential $20,000 tax credit.

SOURCE: Office of Gov. Sonny Perdue