Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

In Australia, Investment Art Must Be Hidden, Not Hung

May 31, 2012 by Marion Maneker

Australian individuals own A$664m in art and collectibles as retirement investments. New rules governing those assets have caused some collectors to sell because they are now required to keep investment assets for retirement funds locked away:

The artwork can be displayed for sale or leased to an art gallery or a business, provided the leasing party is not related to the super fund (another set of rules defines related), and the agreement is an “arm’s length” one, meaning that it is for the going market rate for such assets.

If there is no leasing deal for the item then it must go into storage, and that will cost money.

In another tightening of the rules, the item must also be insured within seven days of purchase. It can no longer be covered by a home and contents policy. Each item must be named separately in a policy.

Tom Lowenstein, a Melbourne accountant who has campaigned against the new rules, says storage costs average 8 per cent of the asset per year. “It’s not worth keeping the asset if you are going to lose 8 per cent a year,” he says.

ATO Rules Force Art Sales (Australian Financial Review)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Whitney Cuts Last in NYWhitney Cuts Last in NY
  • Sotheby’s to Sell $12m Mantegna Drawing in JanuarySotheby’s to Sell $12m Mantegna Drawing in January
  • Get Ready for a New Vision of Francis BaconGet Ready for a New Vision of Francis Bacon
  • McAndrew: Online Art Sales Reach $3.2bn in 2012McAndrew: Online Art Sales Reach $3.2bn in 2012
  • The Art Was the Deal … in DetroitThe Art Was the Deal … in Detroit
  • Lost Gerôme Painting Descended from Artist’s Daughter to Sell at Art Curial

Filed Under: General

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor