Fairlawn, Bath Land Owners Eligible for Tax Break

Congress re-approves and extends conservation tax credit to protect natural and historic resources

According to the Western Reserve land Conservancy, property owners have until Dec. 31 to take advantage of the law, which provides a tax incentive  in return for  a voluntary  conservation agreement that permanently protects important natural or historic resources. The original federal tax credit expired in 2009. The new measure raises the deduction from 30 percent to 50 percent, allows farmers and ranchers to deduct up to 100 percent of their income and increases the term of the deduction from six to 16 years. According to the agency, the tax incentive has preserved more than 22,000 acres of land so far in the Western Reserve's 14-county region, which stretches east to Pennsylvania, West to Sandusky and south to Canton. Eddie Dengg, the …