Chandler v. Commissioner
Source
About This Legal Opinion
Tax Court cited Kaufman IV holding that the facade easements had zero value because they were largely duplicative of existing historic preservation ordinances but held that taxpayers had reasonable cause for their gross misvaluation in two of three returns.
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Kissling v. Commissioner
The landowner donated historic preservation facade easements claiming a large deduction which the IRS challenged on valuation. Following Kaufman and Scheidelman, the Tax Court ruled that a generalized diminution in value approach was not an appropriate method of valuing a facade easement.
Dunlap v. Commissioner of IRS
The Tax Court disallowed the deduction in its entirety because it held that the easement had zero value. The Tax Court found the taxpayers' expert witness appraisers unconvincing, based on numerous methodological flaws.
United States v. 1.57 Acres of Land
The court found that the conservation easement had more than zero value.
Palmer Ranch Holdings, LTD v. Commissioner I
Tax Court largely agreed with taxpayer's appraiser but did reduce the value somewhat and found the reasonable cause exception avoided the penalty.
Seventeen Seventy Sherman Street, LLC v. Commissioner
The Tax Court held that the LLC's deduction failed outright because it had failed to value all of the consideration received in the quid pro quo exchange and therefore failed to prove that the value of the easements exceeded the value of that consideration.
Evans v. Commissioner
The taxpayer failed to meet the burden of proof on valuation so the IRS' zero valuation was sustained. The Court declined to assess the accuracy-related penalty, finding that the original appraisal was qualified, that taxpayer had reasonable cause and acted in good faith reliance on the appraiser.
Gorra v. Commissioner
The Court found the easement complied with the purposes and perpetuity tests but found that the value was much less that taxpayers claimed although not zero as the IRS claimed. Penalties assessed.
Scheidelman v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (Tax Court
The Tax Court held that the appraisal was not a 'qualified appraisal,' there was no reasonable cause exception, no substantial compliance, the endowment is not a deductible gift and no penalties due to reasonable reliance.