The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho denied the government's motion for summary judgment on whether taxpayers were entitled to a charitable deduction for the value of a conservation easement granted to The Nature Conservancy (Pesky v. United States, D. Idaho, No. 1:10-cv-00186, order 7/8/13).

District Judge William B. Shubb granted the motion for summary judgment by the taxpayers, Alan and Nancy Pesky, on imposition of the fraud penalty under tax code Section 6663, because “the court cannot conclude that a reasonable juror could find it ‘highly likely' that Alan Pesky's deduction of the Conservation Easement was due to fraud.”

 

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