The Artful Jurist

Here’s a brain teaser…

Question: If an art collector donates a valuable painting to a museum or library, how much can that collector deduct from federal income taxes as a charitable contribution? Answer: The fair market value of the art – which, if it’s a fine piece, could be worth thousands.

Question 2: What if the artist who created the painting donates it to the same museum or library? Then how much can the artist deduct? Answer: The cost of the canvas and paint….Oh, and the cost of the frame, too, if the artist framed it….And, no, the artist can’t claim a bigger deduction if he throws in a gallon of turpentine.

So how did this happen? Why is it the painting’s worth so much more as a tax deduction in the hands of a mere purchaser of the work than it is in the hands of its actual creator? Well, U.S. tax laws being the hairy maze that they are, the short answer is that a change to the tax code in 1969 simply left things that way.

This impacts other artists, as well. Not just those in the visual arts. We’re talking writers and music composers.

Now don’t think the good folks we elect to Congress aren’t trying their darnedest to rectify this inconsistency. In the last five sessions, bills have been introduced in the Senate by Patrick Leahy (D-VT) under the title of the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, each of those bills attempting to revamp the tax laws so as to allow visual artists, writers, and composers the same privilege of deducting fair market value for their donated works. In the House, a similar bill was introduced three times by Amory Houghton (R-NY), and then a fourth try was introduced by James Ramstad (R-MN). Each one has ended up dead as the proverbial doornail, the result of the congressional session ending before the bill could make its way to the floor for a vote.

The last time the bill was proposed in Congress was 2007. Now we’ve got a brand new Congress. Think anyone’s up for a sixth try?