Former Atlanta Braves players John Smoltz and Ryan Klesko no longer face possible civil penalties for overvaluing a conservation easement after the IRS voluntarily dropped its cross-appeal in the Eleventh Circuit.
Klesko and Smoltz’s partnership, Buckelew Farm LLC, challenged a $43 million reduction to its available charitable contribution tax deduction after the US Tax Court ruled it had relied on an impermissible land use determination to make its calculations. Buckelew Farm told the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit that the lower court had contravened precedent by denying their deduction, while the IRS said the opinion didn’t go ...