LPAA backs Amendment 5

The LPAA announced this week it is supporting a Tax Break for Consignment Art Amendment #5, which will exempt consignment art from the inventory tax this November 7th.

Commenting on the proposal, Scott Hutcheson, Chairman of the LPAA stated, “Passage of this amendment is necessary if we are to continue the economic benefits of a healthy arts economy. Currently, the inventory tax is only applied in two assessor districts in New Orleans but could be applied statewide to the detriment of the state and local governing bodies as well as the artists themselves.”

“It’s a simple proposition” adds Tommy Usrey, vice chairman for Advocacy for LPAA. “Under the state constitution, only those items specifically exempted from the inventory tax in the constitution are protected from this regressive tax. This has resulted in the threat from international and local artists not to exhibit their works in our local art galleries. The result could well be the loss of thousands of dollars in sales tax revenues to local governments and the state. The sales taxes on the purchase of the works will far exceed the inventory tax.”

Hutcheson goes on to say, “The state and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, under the leadership of Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, have done an excellent job of building the cultural economy. Currently surveys indicate that the state realizes close to a billion dollars per year through the arts. It would be a huge step backwards to endanger this growth.”

(Scott Hutcheson is the Executive Director of the Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation. Tommy Usrey is President & CEO of the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council.”)