FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Joan Kureczka]

I came across this NY Times article this morning from January 2015 (sorry -- the forum will not allow me to publish a link) and was rather shocked to find out about the proliferation of private museums that rarely open their doors to the public, but are still able to write off purchases made to acquire the treasures within on their US taxes.

I have heard from knowledgable friends in our collector community about the growth of these private museums, and am rather appalled that as a USA tax payer I'm basically helping to subsidize at least some of the population of "natural art" collectors. I have no beef with anyone who funds and creates their own institution especially if they share that interest and their treasures with the public Such institutions have always existed amongst art collectors and often later become part of other greater public institutions, enriching them immeasurably. I just don't think that institutions that are rarely if ever open to others should benefit tax-wise.

[GneissWare]

Here is the link to the article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/business/art-collectors-gain-tax-benefits-from-private-museums.html?ref=topics&_r=0
(link normalized by FMF)