Government Incentives

Pennsylvania Act 85 of 2012, signed by Governor Corbett on 7/2/2012, amends the Tax Reform Code of 1971. Among its many provisions is an expansion of inheritance tax exemptions associated with farming and agricultural preservation. Can be found as House Bill 761 (session of 2011) in the records of the PA General Assembly. 139 pp.

The provisions of the Inheritance and Estate Tax Act can be found at Article XXI of the Tax Reform Code of 1971, as amended, which is linked to here. Daniel B. Evans describes the recent history of the Pennsylvania Inheritance and Estate Tax Act (at his evans-legal.com website at http://evans-legal.com/dan/paieta.html) as "rather confusing."

This guide is a compilation of the major federal, state and private voluntary conservation programs that provide financial incentives to private landowners for the installation of conservation buffers in Pennsylvania.

Many conservation-related property transactions are excluded from having to pay state and local realty transfer taxes in Pennsylvania. WeConservePA guide. 6 pages.

Preferential assessment of rural land has modestly slowed the rate of rural land development. It also imposes social costs. Reform of preferential assessment programs could both improve their efficacy and reduce negative impacts.

In Pennsylvania, death triggers a state inheritance tax on the distribution of the deceased person’s assets (the “estate”) to the beneficiaries of the estate. Conservation restrictions in support of agriculture on land included in the estate can reduce the inheritance tax owed. WeConservePA guide. 4 pages.

Acquaints the reader with the basics of the federal estate tax and, to a lesser extent, the gift tax. 33 pages.

This handbook provides you with detailed information about the tools and techniques available for controlling invasive plants, or weeds, in natural areas. Whenever possible, language familiar to natural area managers is used, and unfamiliar terms and jargon borrowed from other fields are defined.