The Art Fund believes that everyone should have the opportunity to experience great art at first hand, and has been campaigning energetically on behalf of museums and galleries from its earliest years.
As an independent, membership-based charity which receives no funding from government, The Art Fund is uniquely well placed to help shape arts policy and speak out on behalf of museums and their visitors.
The Art Fund campaigns under three broad headings:
- to promote acquisitions
- to secure proper government funding for museums
- to promote the widest possible public access to works of art
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Tax Effective GivingThe Art Fund has long campaigned for the introduction of tax incentives that will foster a culture of giving in the UK. As the state’s contribution is being eroded – by demands such as the 2012 London Olympics - we need to look at creative ways of boosting income. We believe that the creation of a ‘culture of cultural giving’ is the
key to producing a sustainable, creative future for our museums and
galleries. This can only be achieved if philanthropy is celebrated and
mechanisms are in place to leverage private and corporate money in to our
collections. There are several tax effective ways
In 2007 we commissioned law firm Allen &
Overy to produce a report comparing the tax regimes in the UK,
France, Germany, Switzerland and the US. The report highlights the
kind of mechanisms that governments have developed to encourage private
owners to open up their collections for enjoyment by the public, or to
transfer ownership of their collections to the public domain. While
most jurisdictions offer incentives to encourage outright gifts of works
of art to cultural institutions, there is a notable absence in the UK of
income tax relief for gifts of works of art. – this is something we
campaigned for with the Living and Giving Campaign in 2005. Although
this did not find political favour at the time, we are still committed to
encouraging a more stable balance between public and private
funding. |
