Articoli taggati con ‘art economics’
Taxation, a driver for the Art Market
The Italian art market grows poorly and, in any case, more slowly than the world market. One of the reasons for this stagnation is undoubtedly the presence of an anachronistic tax legislation that seems to respond to mere revenue logics. By contrast, an equal and forward-looking tax system of the art market could be instrumental in making a significant contribution to circulating works of art and offering new growth opportunities. Tax policies may be an effective instrument to support the cultural activities of individuals or entities by means of incentives and a favourable tax regime. If the main purpose of a tax system is to earn revenues, this does not prevent the governments from lawfully pursuing objectives not having a strictly fiscal character but rather a social or an economic nature at the same time. The tax regime of the art market gives origin to different issues in accordance with the diversified nature of acts and situations (purchases, supplies or possession of the works of art) taken into consideration by the legislator as well as with the legal form of the interested parties (natural or legal persons, VAT taxpayers or not, and so on). The main issues concern VAT, inheritance tax and income taxation.
Big Exhibitions 2010-2014: Institutions, Themes, Circulation. A Global Overview and the Case of Italy
Exhibitions are a central component of the contemporary art system, as one of the favourite tools for cultural distribution, attraction of public and visibility of cultural organisations. Important instruments for the communication of scientific results and new cultural views, they have become an irreplaceable element for institutions like museums, which have strengthened the practice of exhibitions to promote and enhance their cultural offer. At the same time, in the continuous quantitative and commercial development of the art system, museums have begun to resort to exhibitions in order to attract a larger public, and exhibitions have been affected by marketing techniques. The growth of “blockbuster” exhibitions – popular and often low-quality events – is consistent with the measurement of cultural success in terms of “figures”. The most visited exhibitions, as well as the most visited museums, represent cases of brilliant success that involve in a challenge old and developing cultural contexts, giving the possibility, to institutions and entire cities, of national and international prominence. Since exhibitions have become an increasingly important element of the cultural industry, in several cases a growth in the number of these events has been observed. If the escalation of the art festivals and Biennials is a worldwide phenomenon, in Italy the amount of the exhibitions has exponentially increased in the last ten years, producing a trend –observed in France and Germany as well – that has been defined as a real “mania of exhibitions” .
