SERVICES

CORPORATE ART COLLECTION OF CANADIAN PAINTINGS- AND THE TAX BENEFITS

One of the earliest references to art collection can be found in the Bible: King Saul commissioning songs from David’s lyre. In the millennia since then, art patronage and collecting is a veritable history of culture, with collecting and patronage of the arts practiced as a social institution.

Indeed, in Florence of the 15th and 16th centuries, patronage of the arts was not an option; it was a civic duty… and it was a key to social status, a means of preserving the family name, of exculpating some of the blame inherent in vast wealth. The list of names of both artists and patrons throughout history is long and legendary: the Medicis, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Shakespeare, Mozart… even the scientist Galileo. Monarchs, Municipalities, and the Church made vast investments of their own to promote the arts. Catherine DeMedici’s widespread patronage helped establish Renaissance French art, even introducing the art of ballet to the French court. The magnificent ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican was commissioned by Pope Sixtus from Michelangelo.

This is an investment in culture, a venture into the art of collection rather than just collecting art. Businesses may choose to be involved in an art collection or an art program consisting of art sponsorship, commissioning art, or enhancing their marketing activities by creating art events and engaging new target audiences – a way to get closer to customers, community and employees.

Businesses who collect or engage with art can improve their corporate culture, add a new dimension to their corporate social responsibility outreach, and significantly enhance their brand image… and provide important support for contemporary artists. And despite recent market corrections, art is nothing to sneeze at: Including dealers and auction sales, the value of the art market has increased by 154% since 2003 to nearly $89 billion.

TAX BENEFITS

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has established that taxpayers who purchase or rent Canadian artworks, either for their personal office or for the common areas of their places of business (such as the lobby or hallway) can claim a tax deduction for the cost of purchasing or renting the work. Since buying art is regarded as an amortization expense for companies and business owners, taxpayers may deduct an amount from the business income if the artwork is not a personal expense but instead was acquired for the sole purpose of earning income. At the federal level, taxpayers can amortize 20% of the purchase cost annually, but in the first year of the purchase the half-rate rule applies. The amortization will therefore only represent 10%.

Under the Tax Act, this purchase must meet the following criteria:

A print, etching, drawing, painting, sculpture, or other similar work of art that is greater than $200 in value
Made by a Canadian artist at the time the art was created, whether a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident
Antique furniture, or any other antique object, produced more than 100 years before the date it was acquired, the cost of which was not less than $1,000
Exhibited in a place of business where it will be seen by clients