# Is tax exemption for public access to treasured artworks ‘a racket’?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/01/10/tax-exemption-public-access-treasured-artworks-racket/
- Published: 2014-01-10T15:14:13+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Perish the thought!

I recently read an [article](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/27/tax-exemption-public-access-treasured-artworks-racket)
describing tax exemption for public access to treasured artworks as ‘a racket’. 
It reported that the owners of 115,000 works don’t pay inheritance or capital gains
tax if they allow public access, but that in some cases viewing the artworks can
be difficult.

You can [search](http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/heritage/colsearch.htm) the HMRC website
to find details of collections of works of art and other objects that are exempt
from tax under the Conditional Exemption Incentive. You can search the whole of 
the UK, or by one of 13 regions: Scotland (North), Scotland (South),Northern Ireland,
North East, North West, Yorkshire & the Humber, Wales, West Midlands, East Midlands,
Eastern Region, London, South East, South West. Whilst quite a few are for museums
or National Trust properties, there are a few interesting looking results, which
could serve as a useful starting point when trying to identify people (who might
also be wealthy), with an interest in the arts/heritage.

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A number of years ago, it used to be possible to obtain a copy of the database and
be able to check by location. Oh happy days! In a number of instances, the database
now lists a contact person, e.g. at a firm of solicitors. Still, it might merit 
further investigation, and it will be interesting to see what follows from the recent
article.

 

Picture: _[picture frames](http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-109894544/stock-photo-set-of-golden-vintage-frame-isolated-on-white-background.html)
__by Iakov Filimonov on Shutterstock.com_

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