Re: [APML] OT: Payment for images; was: Fw: images from science

["Alson Wong" <alsonwong@earthlink.net>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Bert Katzung" <katzung1@attbi.com>
To: <astro-photo@seds.org>
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [APML] OT: Payment for images; was: Fw: images from science


> Quick followup on Matt's proposal: my expert says it probably won't work.
> Basic IRS rules (as quoted in Lasser [the tax book] ) state that
> 1. an artist donating a work of art to a "charity" may only claim the cost
> of materials, say $50 on a million dollar work of art. (On the other hand,
> someone who *buys* a work of art for a million dollars can then donate it
to
> a charity and claim the million deduction.)
> 2. the charity has to be certified by the IRS as fitting into one of
several
> categories and the artist taking the deduction would have to present
> evidence that the charity has that certification.
> 3. it's not clear from Lasser whether non-profit consortiums of commercial
> groups can qualify for any of the IRS's "charity" certification
categories.
> I suspect not....
>
> Lovely idea anyway!

A well-known amateur astronomer who also happens to be my CPA gave me a
similar response:


----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Stephens" <rstephens@foxandstephens.com>
To: "'Alson Wong'" <alsonwong@earthlink.net>
Cc: <matt@starmatt.com>
Sent: Friday, April 05, 2002 12:30 PM
Subject: RE: Re: [APML] Fw: images from science


> >Bert,
> >
> >Say the rights they wanted to you image are worth $1000. Could
> you donate
> >use of the image and claim it on your tax return as a non-profit
> contribution?
> >--
>
> The short answer is -- No.  An artist, upon donating a work of art
> he/she created to a charity cannot deduct the value of their labor, only
> the costs of the materials.
>
> This is in contrast to somebody who purchases a work of art, has it
> appreciate in value (substantiated by appraisal) and then donates it to
> a charity for its current fair market value.
>
> Robert Stephens, CPA

For further questions, he can be e-mailed at:  rstephens@foxandstephens.com



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