Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 301 CMR - EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS › Title 301 CMR 14.00 - Conservation land tax credit › Section 14.02 - Definitions

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Agency
means any of the agencies
				under the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
				whose authority and purposes, include, but are not necessarily limited to, the
				care, custody and control of property interests for Article 97 purposes.
Applicant
means a Massachusetts
				Taxpayer, who on or after January 1, 2011, applies to EEA for certification
				that the Taxpayer's Property Interest has sufficient natural resources and is
				in the public interest if protected in perpetuity to be deemed a Qualified
				Donation.
Bargain Sale
means the sale of a real
				property interest at a cost below fair market value as evidenced by a Qualified
				Appraisal.
Certified Land
means a Property
				Interest, including a Restriction, the donation or bargain sale of which has
				been certified by EEA to have sufficient natural resources to qualify to be in
				the public interest for perpetual natural resource protection. Land that may
				qualify as Certified Land may include the following resources: drinking water
				supplies, wildlife habitats and biological diversity, agricultural and forestry
				production, recreational opportunities, or scenic and cultural values, of
				statewide or regional significance as defined in 301 CMR 14.02 and
				830 CMR 62.6.4(2)
				 and which meets the conservation purpose
				requirements of Section 170(h)(4)(a) the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) as in
				effect for the taxable year.
Department
means the Department of
				Revenue.
EEA
means the Executive Office of
				Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Internal Revenue Code (IRC)
means,
				with respect to personal income taxation under M.G.L. c. 62, the Internal
				Revenue Code, as defined in M.G.L. c. 62, § 1(c); and with respect to
				corporate excise taxation under M.G.L. c. 63, the Internal Revenue Code, in
				effect for the taxable year, as more fully defined in M.G.L. c. 63, §
				1.
Massachusetts Conservation Land Tax Land
				Identification Number (LIN)
means a unique Land Identification
				Number issued by EEA verifying that the Certified Land is a Qualified
				Donation.
Natural Resource Protection
means the
				perpetual protection and conservation of land having significant natural
				resource qualities, pursuant to a clearly delineated Federal, State, or
				regional governmental conservation policy with qualities including, but not
				limited to, those defined by Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts
				Constitution, M.G.L. c. 184, §§ 31 through 33 and Section
				170(h)(4)(A) and 170(h)(5)(A) of the IRC, when protection of such land will
				yield a significant public benefit in the public interest.
Perpetual Protection
means Certified
				Land protected in perpetuity for Natural Resource Protection purposes by a
				Restriction, or Certified Land held in fee by a Public Conservation Agency and
				subject to Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts
				Constitution.
Pre-CLTC
means preliminary approval
				byEEA that the proposed donation has sufficient natural resources that its
				Perpetual Protection would be in the public interest, and that the anticipated
				transfer of the landowner's property interest will in fact protect the
				Certified Land in perpetuity.
Property Interest
means any deed or
				instrument conveying any right in real property in the commonwealth, with or
				without improvements thereon, that has been duly recorded in a Registry of
				Deeds.
Public Conservation Agency
means a
				governmental body described in M.G.L. c. 184, § 32 with authority to hold
				property interests in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Natural Resource
				Protection purposes.
Qualified Appraisal
means an
				appraisal as defined in Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-13(c)(3) and Internal Revenue
				Service (IRS) Notice 2006-96 that is less than one year old and meets EEA's
				Appraisal Standards, dated September 1, 1995.
Qualified Appraiser
means a qualified
				appraiser as defined in Treas. Reg. § 1.170A-13(c)(5) and IRS Notice
				2006-96, who has been licensed or certified by the Massachusetts Board of
				Registration of Real Estate Appraisers for the land that is being
				appraised.
Qualified Donation
means a donation
				or the donated portion of a bargain sale of Certified Land which is made in
				perpetuity of a Property Interest, including a Restriction, provided that
				donation meets the requirements of qualified conservation contributions under
				section 170(h) of the IRC and
				301
				CMR 14.00.
Qualified Organization
means a
				private nonprofit corporation organized for the purposes of land conservation
				that meets the requirements of M.G.L. c. 184, § 32, St. 2008, c. 509,
				and:
(a) Is authorized to do business in Massachusetts and is duly
				qualified as a charitable organization under section 501c(3) of the IRC;
(b) Meets the requirements of Treas. Reg. Sec. 1.170A-14(c),
				and therefore has the power to acquire, hold, or maintain interests in land and
				carry out Natural Resource Protection in the Public Interest; and
(c) Has provided suitable evidence such as a corporate or other
				organizational vote showing that the Qualified Organization has adopted the
				Land Trust Alliance's Land Trust Alliance Standards and Practices or similarly
				acceptable standards and practices as guidelines for the organization's
				operations, and commits to making continual progress toward implementation of
				the standards and practices;
Restriction
means the conveyance of a
				qualified Property Interest in the form of a conservation restriction,
				watershed preservation restriction or agricultural preservation restriction
				duly established under M.G.L. c. 184, §§ 31 and 32.
Taxpayer
means an individual or
				entity subject to taxation under M.G.L. c. 62 or M.G.L. c. 63 and entitled to
				take a credit under M.G.L. c. 62, § 6(p)(1) or M.G.L. c. 63, § 38AA,
				as applicable.
Title Examination
means a title
				examination performed by an individual qualified to perform title examinations
				in Massachusetts that meets conveyancing standards, and identifies all owners
				of an interest in the Real Property to be donated and separately identifies
				those owners and their percentage interest whose signatures are necessary to
				convey the Certified Land and protect it in perpetuity.