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Tax Bill, Land Conservation, and You

With each donation you give, you help ensure the lands you love are well cared for and maintained as wildlife habitats, hiking trails, and places to enjoy with family and friends. But our work, as well as the work of all nonprofit organizations, may be devastated by the federal tax reform bill. What’s important to know about the tax reform bill?
  • Reduces the number of taxpayers who can itemize their charitable deductions, so that 95% of taxpayers would no longer receive a tax incentive for donating to their communities. The Charitable Giving Coalition shares that the current “charitable deduction has been good tax policy because it achieved its goal – increasing charitable giving.”
  • An alternative solution is to make charitable deductions available to all taxpayers as a universal charitable deduction.
  • Eliminates the Johnson Amendment (in the House approved version); it’s the provision in the tax code which requires nonprofits to be nonpartisan.
  • Upholding this amendment keeps partisan politics out of the work of nonprofits.
  • Doubles the estate tax exemption to about $11 million for single taxpayers and $22 million for married taxpayers
  • This may serve not only to disincentivize general bequests, but also bequests of land.
Congress is working on a fast deadline to get the tax reform bill passed before the end of the year. Since the Senate and House each passed different versions of the bill, members will be appointed to form a committee to negotiate a compromised version. That negotiated version will be sent to the House of Representatives and Senate for final vote.
It’s important to know that 97% of our annual budget is funded from individual donors like you. If the bill moves forward with the reduced number of taxpayers taking charitable deductions, our donations may plummet drastically, impacting our ability to keep our trails open for you, offer programs, and conduct wildlife studies on the preserves.
What can you do? Please contact your Connecticut Congressional Delegation if the work of nonprofit organizations like Steep Rock Association is important to you. Ask that they continue to oppose these provisions that will severely impact the work of your land trust as well as other non-profit charities. Stay updated with the Independent Sector’s summary and dashboard on these tax bill issues as they relate overall to nonprofit organizations across the nation.
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Matching Gifts

 Did you know many companies match donations made by employees, employees’ spouses, and retirees, allowing employees to DOUBLE their generosity and impact? 

Contact your employer today to see if they will match your gift.

QCDs

 If you are 70½ years of age or older, you can take advantage of a popular gift option called a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) also known as a IRA charitable rollover.  QCDs offer simple ways to benefit Steep Rock and receive tax benefits in return.

To learn more, visit here.

Stock or Wire

If you’d like to give a gift via wire or stock, please reach out to gifts@steeprockassoc.org for our account information.

DAF

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When granting through your donor-advised fund, please use the following information:

Our legal name: Steep Rock Association, Inc.
Tax ID: #06-6069060
Mailing address: PO Box 279, Washington Depot, CT 06794

Check Donations

Please make checks payable to Steep Rock Association. Our mailing address is:

Steep Rock Association
PO Box 279
Washington Depot, CT 06794