Tax

EU tax breaks could benefit dealers at Basel

New directive aimed at aligning VAT rates, due to come into force at the beginning of 2025, could have a big impact on galleries in countries including France and Germany

Germany slashes VAT on art sales to 7%

The reduction, which comes into effect next year, meets long-standing demands from German dealers

Taxnews

Internal Revenue Service warns of tax scam targeting collectors

Scheme involves inflating value of donated works to claim bigger tax deductions

Simon Lee Gallery enters administration following tax dispute

The London commercial gallery is now under the control of insolvency practitioners after a petition from Barclays Bank

Italy could slash VAT on imported works of art

Proposal follows EU directive to align import sales tax among member states, causing alarm in France which currently has the lowest rate

Art marketanalysis

Wealthy American art collectors capitalise on tax-efficient gift scheme

Donor Advised Funds allow individuals to claim tax relief while they are still alive through making gifts of art and other assets—without obligation to pay out money to charity straight away

How do US taxpayers value their art collections? With great difficulty

Possible penalties for donors and heirs make the process of determining the value of artworks a high-wire act

'Fatal for the French art market': dealers decry new EU sales tax that could wipe out Paris's booming commercial scene

The directive will make selling art in France much more expensive—and imperil its post-Brexit position as the EU's market hub

Art marketanalysis

Plunging arts exports, cancelled fairs and increased regulation: how Brexit is endangering the UK art market three years on

On the anniversary of the UK's departure from the European Union, dealers and politicians warn Britain is slipping behind its competitors as a cultural leader

Crime news

Moscow-based architect, who built ‘Putin’s Palace’, refuses to return to Italy to face trial

Italian Lanfranco Cirillo—whose 150-strong art collection was seized last year—will be tried in absentia by an Italian court next month for tax and money laundering crimes

Art marketanalysis

For US collectors buying in London, the dollar’s strength may be their only advantage

While the relative weakness of the pound this season has given Americans at Frieze more buying power, many other factors may prevent them from making major purchases

NFTnews

Washington becomes first US state to tax NFTs

Although taxing non-fungible tokens is tricky because of uncertainty over where they are sourced, other states look set to follow Washington’s lead

Pandora Papers reveal 1,600 works of art 'secretly traded' in tax havens

The art reportedly includes "more than a dozen" works by Banksy bought by the London-based financier, Maurizio Fabris, via an offshore trust in New Zealand since 2009

'No matter how wealthy you are, no one is above the law': New York court rejects Sotheby's attempt to dismiss suit alleging it helped collector evade tax on $27m of art

Attorney general claims the auction house created and used tax exemption certificates that falsely presented the buyer as an art dealer in order to dodge payments. Sotheby's says it will continue to contest the case

UK 'tourist tax' will hit dealers of jewellery, silver and small pictures hard, trade body says

Lobby groups fear abolishing tax-free shopping will deter buyers from China, the Middle East and Russia at a cost of £6bn

Taxnews

UK government receives record £65m art gifts in lieu of inheritance tax

National scheme gains significance in the pandemic as "a shift away from blockbuster touring shows" will place greater importance on public collections

Art marketcomment

The art trade benefits from the UK's low import duty. What will happen to it after Brexit?

As talks with the EU resume to reach a last-ditch trade deal, the lawyer Louise Williamson looks at what UK import rules might look like after 1 January

Billionaire art collector Sheldon Solow's tax-exempt art foundation was infamously inaccessible—now his widow says she will open it to the public

The real estate developer died on Tuesday aged 92. His collection in New York has been parodied for being almost impossible to visit despite receiving tax breaks

New York state sues Sotheby's for allegedly helping collector evade tax on $27m of art

Auction house "vigorously refutes the unfounded allegations" made by the attorney general, who claims the auction house knowingly aided the offshore company Porsal Equities

Brazilnews

Inhotim cannot use works from its collection to pay off founder's debt, judge rules

The Brazilian arts park signed an agreement in 2016 to donate 20 works from its collection to the government in order to repay Bernardo Paz's $110m tax debt for laundering donations

Yves Bouvier evaded paying taxes on £276m of art sales, Swiss authorities claim

Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court ordered documents unsealed that call into question whether the dealer declared all profits from sales made to Dimitry Rybolovlev

Anna Brady. , with additional reporting by Vincent Noce

US coronavirus legislation could do more for the arts, Boston museums say

The coalition is asking for $6bn in federal aid, and to permanently expand the charitable giving deduction to encourage US taxpayers to donate to non-profits

Christie's settles $16.7m in tax claims with New York District Attorney

Manhattan prosecutors say the auction house failed to collect sales tax on $189m in private sales over five years

Taxnews

Demand for New York's first freeport facility steps up

Increasing numbers of dealers and collectors take advantage of tax-exempt Arcis, the foreign trade zone in Harlem

Director of Pinault Collection proposes controversial 90% tax breaks for Notre Dame donors

But Pinault family says it is not seeking tax relief for its €100m donation towards the reconstruction effort

Jean-Claude Juncker dismisses claims that freeports are ‘systematically used to commit fraud’

European Commission president rebuffs German MEP Wolf Klinz's demand for a proper investigation into the management of Le Freeport Luxembourg

Trump’s tax Act offers potential tax havens for art

‘Opportunity Zones’ present a new kind of tax-deferred exchange on high-value assets

Lawanalysis

Rule of law: Legal tips for art lovers

From new exhibitor regulations at Art Basel in Miami Beach to questions over insurance and taxes