Paintings by Titian, Van Dyck and David Hockney as well as many other cultural works with a combined value of £19.8 million were handed over under the Government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme in 2008.
Over the last five years, under the scheme, works valued at nearly £100 million have passed into public collections.
In a written statement to Parliament, culture minister Margaret Hodge said that this represented ‘an increase in value of £4.6 million from 2007/08’.
She added that the amount of tax written off by the acceptance of the cultural objects in 2008/09 was £10.8 million.