The Critical Role of Notifications by TMPs in Conservation Easement Disputes




 As the cliché goes, communication is key. This is particularly true in the context of certain partnership tax disputes, where the tax matters partner (“TMP”) is charged with keeping partners notified. The IRS has been attacking partnerships that donate conservation easements to charitable organizations for several years, and now disgruntled partners are getting in on the act. Indeed, in March 2020, various partners started a class action lawsuit in federal court, claiming, without yet proving, that they have been aggrieved. What is interesting is that the partners theorize that notifications from the TMP, about the status of the tax dispute with the IRS, damaged or impeded them in several ways. 

Utilizing the recent class action lawsuit as a backdrop, this article explains:

  • The conservation easement donation process
  • Main stages of a partnership tax dispute
  • Specific data-sharing duties imposed on a TMP
  • Recent challenges by the IRS
  • Allegations by the partners

The article concludes that, given the possibility of more stone-throwing by partners in the future, TMPs should understand their communication requirements and implement them to their fullest.

Read the full article here.

About Hale E. Sheppard

HALE E. SHEPPARD, Esq. (B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M., LL.M.T.) is a Shareholder in the Tax Controversy Section and Chair of the International Tax Section of Chamberlain Hrdlicka.

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