Gallerist: Germany’s Cultural Property Bill Aims to Raise Tax Revenues Not Protect Heritage

Artforum adds a twist to the latest news that Germany has passed a modified version of its ‘cultural property bill’ that causes so much consternation to Gerhard Richter and Georg Baselitz. The two artists expressed deep frustration with the government’s attempt to limit the free flow of  art works across international borders.

Baselitz has removed works he had on permanent loan to German museums in response. Richter has adopted a watch-and-wait stance. But dealer Michael Werner adds another layer to the apprehension, according to Artforum’s reading of the original German article:

“It can only be about control…they want to know, despite contrary statements, what private citizens have hanging in their living rooms. They want to make money, as they did in 2014 with the ‘normalization’ of the VAT rate on works of art.”

Germany Approves Controversial Cultural Property Bill (artforum.com)