July 24,2000

Taxation Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Land Conservation Tax Issues

WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) today announced that the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, under the Chairmanship of Senator Hatch (R-UT), meet on Tuesday, July 25, 2000, at 10:00 a.m. in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building to hear testimony on federal income tax issues relating to proposals to encourage the creation of public open spaces in urban areas and the preservation of farm and other rural lands for conservation purposes. The Subcommittee will review a variety of legislative proposals.

The following witnesses are expected to testify before the Subcommittee:

I. A panel consisting of:

Mr. Jon Talisman, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of the Treasury, Washington D.C.

II. A panel consisting of:

Ms. Virginia S. Gorday, Senior Vice President for Portman Holdings L.P., Representing the Real Estate Round Table, Atlanta, Georgia

The Honorable H. Brent Coles, Mayor of Boise, Idaho, Chairman, U.S. Conference of Mayors

Mr. Sam Staley, Director Urban Futures Program, Reason Public Policy Institute, Los Angeles, California

Mr. Philip Tabas, Vice President, Director of Land Protection, the Nature Conservancy, Boston, Massachusetts

III. A panel consisting of:

Mr. Guy F. Donaldson, President, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, representing the American Farm Bureau Federation, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

Ms. Elizabeth Thompson, Legislative Director, Environmental Defense, Washington D.C.

Mr. Alan Front, Senior Vice President, the Trust for Public Land, Washington D.C.

Mr. Roy O'Connor