Sunday, April 20, 2008

"What helped make this possible is the existence in the US of tax incentives for gifts of works of art that benefit the donors while they are alive"

Tate Director Nicholas Serota on how to increase giving to British museums:

"In Britain, there are tax benefits when works of art are given to the nation - but the donor has to be dead. This is the acceptance-in-lieu scheme, which gives tax relief on the deceased's estate. ... I would like to see the principles of the acceptance-in-lieu scheme extended to allow living donors to have a similar tax benefit through income tax and capital gains tax relief, during their lifetime. In the last 10 years acceptance-in-lieu has brought over £250 million-worth of works into the cultural sector - I think it is time to make a case for lifetime giving."

Here is more on the acceptance-in-lieu scheme.