re: New Senate tax incentives for land ownersBy: Rapid Share on: 06/01/2010In fact, the conservation break is so generous that it produces a bizarre and seemingly backwards incentive: Donors who keep a piece of land while giving the development rights to a conservation group can sometimes get a bigger tax benefit than if they'd given the land outright to the same group. That's because, if a landowner gives his property away, the normal tax rules apply, meaning he can use the charitable deduction to wipe out only 30% of his adjusted gross and can carry any unused deduction forward for only five (5) years.