France to Cut Red Tape, Provide Free Loans to Revive Art Market

[Ares]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=aL.bXd02V_H4&refer=muse

How nice would it be it it happened in North AM

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April 2 (Bloomberg) -- France will loosen rules for auction houses and introduce interest-free loans for buyers to regain market share lost to the U.S., the U.K. and China.

 

Under a plan outlined today by the government, auctioneers will be allowed to offer a guaranteed minimum price for sellers, hold private sales and sell their own pieces. The interest-free loans would emulate a U.K. program called ``Own Art,'' which has helped thousands of Britons buy a first piece of art since it was introduced in 2004.

 

``The first part of the plan aims at making France a country of collectors, whether individuals or corporate,'' Culture Minister Christine Albanel said in Paris, according to the text of her remarks posted on the ministry's Web Site. ``The second part of the plan aims to improve the competitiveness of the French art market.''

 

The French art market has a 6 percent global share and fell to fourth as China passed it last year, Albanel said. The U.S. and the U.K. account for 50 percent and 25 percent of global sales, she said.

 

France has almost 10,000 companies involved in the market, employing more than 50,000 people.

 

Albanel also said she will ask the European Union to reassess the 19.6 percent value-added tax on art imports, which leaves European houses at a disadvantage to counterparts in New York or Geneva when it comes to selling jewels, books or furniture that are less than 100 years old.

 

The introduction of a reduced VAT on imports of art for sale should be considered, she said.

 

She's planning to cut red tape on art dealers, and to improve tax breaks for small companies and self-employed investors in art. She's also planning to follow U.K. legislation on artists' resale royalty rights.

 

 

[delekkerste]

That's like your dealer loaning you money for your next hit of crack.