Works of art donated to pay off tax bills
MUSEUMS and art galleries in the North of England have benefitted from more than £3m worth of works of art donated to offset tax bills.
New research by PwC shows that £3,081,000 worth of art has been donated in the North as part of the Government’s acceptance in lieu scheme.
The scheme allows those who have an inheritance tax bill to offset part of those taxes by donating important cultural, scientific or historic objects reallocated to the nation via public museums and galleries.
In Yorkshire, this includes one of three Degas sculptures worth around £450,000, which has been donated to Leeds Art Gallery, as well as two Barbara Hepworth sculptures donated to The Hepworth Wakefield Museum. The sculptures were originally donated in 2010 but have this year been permanently housed in Wakefield.
Across the north, a JMW Turner painting of Lowther Castle, which was donated in settlement of a tax liability of £1,750,000 in 2011, has this year been permanently housed at Bowes Museum in County Durham. Also donated to the region were 22 pieces of 20th century studio pottery ranging from 1952 to 1988 donated to the Shipley Museum in Newcastle.
Nationally, the total worth of art donated in 2013 has gone up by 50% compared to the previous year, increasing from £20m to £30m. This is a 500% increase from 2011 when just £5m worth of art was donated.
Katherine Bullock, Leeds-based partner and national head of private client at PwC, commented: “This scheme was introduced in the early 1900s so is by no means new, but there has been a definite increase in popularity over the last few years. People are taking more time to plan their affairs and look at different ways to manage their inheritance tax bill.
“We are also seeing an increased number of high networth individuals investing in art as a viable, long-term investment option, and the possibility of using art to offset against IHT in the future is another advantage.”
