TAX and ART
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bobo

Original Poster:

1,724 posts

295 months

Saturday 30th January 2010
quotequote all
One for the accountants and something that has got me thinking.... more of a curiosity !

I (unfortunately) love expensive paintings.... I haven't bought one for a while but i was wondering whether there was a relationship between Art and Tax these days.

Is there any tax benefit in buying art?

Just a curiosity....

...and many thanks in advance.


Eric Mc

124,110 posts

282 months

Saturday 30th January 2010
quotequote all
No.

However, if you have a business premises and you buy the odd painting for the office, that would be allowed as an expense against the business profit.

Obviously, if it was an original Van Gogh or Picasso you might have a job excplaining to HMRC why it shoyuld be treated as a revenue expense rather than a capital purchase.

Serious and expensive art would be treated as an asset and would be subject to Capital Gains Tax on disposal.

bobo

Original Poster:

1,724 posts

295 months

Saturday 30th January 2010
quotequote all
eric mc

an excellent and informative answer.

many thanks smile

Simpo Two

89,598 posts

282 months

Saturday 30th January 2010
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Obviously, if it was an original Van Gogh or Picasso you might have a job excplaining to HMRC why it shoyuld be treated as a revenue expense rather than a capital purchase.
There was a Japanese bank that paid £22M for a Van Gogh a while back...

Eric Mc

124,110 posts

282 months

Saturday 30th January 2010
quotequote all
I may know a bit about UK tax but the sum total of my knowledge of Japanese tax could be written in its entirety on a Nintendo Wii controller On/Off button.

Edited by Eric Mc on Saturday 30th January 18:58

Simpo Two

89,598 posts

282 months

Sunday 31st January 2010
quotequote all
hehe

Yes, the prospect of a self-assessment form in Japanese is truly mind boggling.