Support the Artists’ Deduction Bill

Kim Hall

The Artist Deduction Bill (S. 548) would give artists the right to deduct the fair market value of their work when donating it to charity, rather than only the costs of materials and supplies, as things currently stand now. According to the American for the Arts, the U.S. tax system is currently treating collectors, who can donate tangible works and deduct the fair market value, differently from the creators of those works. What does this mean for artists?

“It means that I have stopped donating because it takes me about a month to do a painting, and my paintings start at around $5,000,” says artist Mimi Jensen. “It makes financial sense to me as an artist to write a check to a charity rather than spend a month of my time to paint something and donate it for far less.”

Essentially, as artists stop donating work, nonprofit institutions across the country will suffer. Artists and collectors should be treated equally when donating work, but in order to do that, we need to voice our opinions to our Members of Congress as quickly as possible. While there hasn’t been any movement on the bill yet, lobbying is scheduled for late March, so the time to act is now.

If you haven’t voiced your support for the Artist Deduction Bill to your Member of Congress yet, Americans for the Arts has made it easy. Just visit http://capwiz.com/artsusa/issues/alert/?alertid=9521951&type=CO , and fill out your name and address in the onscreen template. The template includes a letter explaining what the Artist Deduction Bill is and why it is important. You can opt to print out the letter and mail it in yourself, or you can have the letter e-mailed directly to your Members of Congress instantly.