International Assets Advisory
Last year the International Assets Advisory raised over $3 million for one syndicated conservation easement tax shelter and was ready to raise more. That was after the IRS issued a notice about the deals, the firm has curtailed plans to raise more money for one deal and canceled the others, said the firm’s president Ed Cofrancesco.
“We were in the middle of the deal when the IRS notice came out”, said Mr. Cofrancesco. “That made it a much smaller deal. We probably won’t do anymore.”
The syndicated easement sold by International Assets Advisory, Land Investors was promoting a potential deduction of four-and-a-half times the investor’s initial investment, Mr. Cofrancesco said.
The clients who bought the deal were properly informed of the IRS guidelines and went ahead with the investment, he added.
The IRS notice that said the federal government was concerned about valuations placed on such deals. Promoters of the deals are currently “using promotional materials suggesting to prospective investors that an investor may be entitled to a share of a charitable contribution deduction that equals or exceeds an amount that is two and one-half times the amount of the investor’s investment”.