I head some pundit on Radio 4 yesterday morning talking about Christie’s sale of 19th- and 20th-century works from the collection of the late Peggy and David Rockefeller, where Henri Matisse’s Odalisque couchée aux magnolias (1923) went for $80.8 million, a record for a work by the artist at auction. He was going on about an increasing appreciation of art, but this has bugger all to do with art appreciation - it's all about investment strategies.
If some of this vast and obscene amount of money filtered down to support burgeoning artists, then it wouldn't be so bad, That's not such a bad idea - a tax on art sales over a certain price to support bursaries and scholarships for artists. Say 10%.
However, then there are the practicalities - where would the tax be levied and on whom? The buyer or seller - logic dictates the recipient of the proceeds, but purchasers also pay taxes on bought items in the form of VAT. Would it be levied in the country of the seller/purchaser, or the country where the sale takes place? If the latter, you'd find sales taking place in tax havens. Difficult to implement, as the rich are adept at avoiding taxes.
If some of this vast and obscene amount of money filtered down to support burgeoning artists, then it wouldn't be so bad, That's not such a bad idea - a tax on art sales over a certain price to support bursaries and scholarships for artists. Say 10%.
However, then there are the practicalities - where would the tax be levied and on whom? The buyer or seller - logic dictates the recipient of the proceeds, but purchasers also pay taxes on bought items in the form of VAT. Would it be levied in the country of the seller/purchaser, or the country where the sale takes place? If the latter, you'd find sales taking place in tax havens. Difficult to implement, as the rich are adept at avoiding taxes.
No comments:
Post a Comment