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Louis Jacobson
By Louis Jacobson February 13, 2012
Back to Support tax deduction for artists

House bill exists but long odds of passage this year

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to "ensure tax fairness for artists” by supporting the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. "The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions," the Obama campaign said.

Prior to 1969, artists could deduct the value of the work from their taxes. Afraid that artists were taking advantage of the exemption by inflating the value of their work, Congress put restrictions in the Tax Reform Act of 1969, thus establishing the law that exists today.

Critics say this has diminished contributions to tax-exempt organizations. The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to "allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value ... tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations."

In fact, the Artist-Museum Partnership Act has been introduced in every congressional session since 2003, but it has never passed.

When we last checked on this promise, Leahy had re-introduced the bill, and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., introduced a version in the House. However, it did not pass during the 2009-2010 congressional session.

On March 17, 2011, Lewis reintroduced the bill in the House. Since then, it hasn"t advanced even to a hearing, and it has attracted only 11 co-sponsors, seven Democrats and four Republicans. Meanwhile, Leahy has not reintroduced the bill in the Senate.

The likelihood that little legislation will pass in a presidential election year means that the chance of passage before the end of Obama"s first term is slim. We rate this promise Stalled.

Our Sources

Artist-Museum Partnership Act in THOMAS