The purpose of this requirement is obvious: An appraisal of the incorrect asset prevents the IRS from properly understanding and monitoring the claimed charitable contribution.
"We want to make it easier for employees to take action, so that when the day comes, they are better prepared, " says Edmund Murphy III, head of the defined-contribution business at Putnam Investments, a Boston-based asset manager.
Drawing on the experience of the Green Development Initiative , I suggested that a critical contribution from the public sector would be to establish an accountable, measurable and transparent biodiversity asset.