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For art’s sake

24 March 2009
Issue: 4199 / Categories: Forum & Feedback
A self-employed art critic and lecturer inherited a substantial archive of material from two relatives. His work on that material has been treated as a separate business. The archive is now to be sold. Can brought forward losses be set against the sale proceeds?

Our client has an international reputation having spent his life working in the arts writing books catalogues and articles curating exhibitions judging and lecturing etc. We have prepared accounts as ‘art critic writer lecturer etc’.

Two relations were eminent foreign artists writers and filmmakers. When they died about 20 years ago our client inherited a considerable amount of material including films paintings manuscripts correspondence drawings etc.

During these years he has spent a considerable amount of time arranging and collating this material exhibiting and selling paintings arranging the publication of books and catalogues collecting royalties etc.

Occasionally a profit was made from these estate activities and we informally agreed with a local Inspector that this should be treated as a separate second trading venture.

A national body has agreed...

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