The Role of Art & Antique Dealers An Added Value
Finally, a small number of very established dealers also cited an opposite problem of having good lines of credit after a long history of being in business, but having nothing to buy with them due to shortages in the supply of quality works of art and antiques. Some also felt that there was a need to find more ways to financially assist the trade such as tax breaks for reinvestment, or stock appreciation systems.
4.7 Regulatory Issues
Trade and fiscal policies can significantly affect art dealers’ businesses and livelihoods. While some policies can be important for stimulating art and antique purchases through tax incentives, there are also a number of regulations, taxes and levies imposed by governments which can have a negative effect on some dealer businesses.
Although the effect varies between genres and countries, regulations and paperwork are onerous on some dealer businesses.
A common complaint among the dealers interviewed was that the paperwork required to transact in many markets had grown substantially over the last 20 years, and was now a big drain on time and resources for small businesses. This, combined with high employment-related costs, was cited as an ongoing burden for dealers in many different countries, and one that was seen as detracting from other important business functions such as searching for inventory and marketing. Some did feel that some level of paperwork and administrative detailing were important for making dealers more professional about their work, however, in many cases, it was the extent of form-filling and reporting that made it difficult for dealers to operate.
The most difficult areas reported in relation to regulations were:
i. Trade regulation: Export licensing was reported as problematic for many dealers, although for the majority, the biggest issue was the delays and paperwork rather than trade restrictions themselves. Many dealers were active in trying to improve this, such as in the UK, where some were lobbying government to introduce electronic licensing. The result of trade regulations for some dealers was that they were restricted to local markets only (for example in Russia and Poland), and therefore forced to accept lower prices than they may be able to achieve if they could sell internationally. Import restrictions and levies were also taxing for some dealers, although these tended to be in specific genres and countries.
ii. Taxation: Many dealers had complaints related to VAT or sales taxes on art and antiques. While some complained that the rates were too high, the most common problem emerging was accounting for many different and complex tax schemes and rates between countries due to the international nature of their businesses. Even within US for example, there were often large sales tax differences between states, and VAT rates on art in the EU vary widely between countries. Some dealers had quite specific problems related to antiques
Historical & Future Perspectives 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64