Hi friends, Currently, our laws allow artists to deduct only the
cost of materials when they make a donation. I urge all artists to
review the below about the Artists’ Contribution to the
American Heritage Act of 2003 and consider contacting your
Congressperson to demonstrate your support. It is an act that could
go far in helping the pocketbooks of all professional artists as well
as the coffers of nonprofit arts organizations.
Support the Artists’ Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2003
(H.R. 806) The American Association of Museums (AAM), in support
with the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), has been working
for the past several years to remove an unfortunate inequity in our
tax code that prevents living artists, composers, and writers
(artists) from deducting the fair-market value of their art work when
they contribute that work to a museum or other public institution, as
they could prior to a change in the tax laws in 1969. Currently, the
artists’ deduction is limited to the cost of materials in preparing
the work. However, a collector making an identical donation may take
the full fair-market value deduction for the work. This inequity has
created a distinct disincentive for artists who would otherwise
donate their work to museums or other non-profits. The Artists’
Contribution to American Heritage Act, (H.R. 806) is the latest
legislative attempt to correct this unfortunate quirk of the tax
code. There is considerable interest in resolving this issue on
Capitol Hill but it is essential at this time to get as many
Representatives as possible to sign onto H.R. 806 as co-sponsors in
order to produce a final House-Senate compromise bill that contains
this provision. ACTION NEEDED: Please call, email or fax your
Representative today if they are not already a sponsor of this
important piece of museum-related legislation and ask them to sign
on as a co-sponsor. If your Representative is already a co-sponsor,
please thank him or her for their support. Your opinion as a
constituent matters a great deal so let them know how important
passage of this bill is to your institution and community, and how
making this one small change in the tax code will help your museum
better serve their constituents as well as protect valuable parts of
our national heritage. Contact for all members of the
House of Representatives can be found on the web at
http://www.house.gov. If you are unsure who your Representative is,
you can use the “Find Your Representative” link on the House Web site
to do a zip code search to locate your congressional district and
Representative’s name. You can also get phone and fax numbers from
the Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121 If you have any questions,
please contact Eileen Goldspiel, AAM Government and Public Affairs at
202/289-9125 or via email at egoldspiel@aam-us.org . Thank you.