[TheForge] nonpartisan politics as it affects artists

[lama]

I received this from the Metal Museum in Memphis, they got it from SNAG
(Society of North American Goldsmiths) It is of concern to all artists =
and
non-profit arts organizations like LAMA, ABANA and others.
dave m

Cynthia Eid sent this message out on the SAS group.  Its relevance and
 importance are clear.  Please take the time to read it and consider its
 import.  Please pass this along to fellow artist in your community and
 urge them to contact local arts groups as well as their representatives
 and senators.

 "Hi friends,
 Currently, our laws allow artists to deduct only the cost of materials
 when they make a donation.  I urge all artists to review the =
information
 below about the Artists' Contribution to the American Heritage Act of
 2003 and consider contacting your Congressperson to demonstrate your
 support.  It is an act that could go far in helping the pocketbooks of
 all professional artists as well as the coffers of nonprofit arts
 organizations.

 Support the Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2003 =
(H.R.
 806)
 The American Association of Museums (AAM), in support with the
 Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), has been working for the
 past several years to remove an unfortunate inequity in our tax code
 that prevents living artists, composers, and writers (artists) from
 deducting the fair-market value of their art work when they contribute
 that work to a museum or other public institution, as they could prior
 to a change in the tax laws in 1969. Currently, the artists' deduction
 is limited to the cost of materials in preparing the work. However, a
 collector making an identical donation may take the full fair-market
 value deduction for the work. This inequity has created a distinct
 disincentive for artists who would otherwise donate their work to
 museums or other non-profits. The Artists' Contribution to American
 Heritage Act, (H.R. 806) is the latest legislative attempt to correct
 this unfortunate quirk of the tax code. There is considerable interest
 in resolving this issue on Capitol Hill but it is essential at this =
time
 to get as many Representatives as possible to sign onto H.R. 806 as
 co-sponsors in order to produce a final House-Senate compromise bill
 that contains this provision. ACTION NEEDED: Please call, email or fax
 your Representative today if they are not already a sponsor of this
 important piece of museum-related legislation and ask them to sign on =
as
 a co-sponsor. If your Representative is already a co-sponsor, please
 thank him or her for their support. Your opinion as a constituent
 matters a great deal so let them know how important passage of this =
bill
 is to your institution and community, and how making this one small
 change in the tax code will help your museum better serve their
 constituents as well as protect valuable parts of our national =
heritage.
 Contact information for all members of the House of Representatives can
 be found on the web at <http://www.house.gov/>www.house.gov . If you =
are
 unsure who your Representative is, you can use the "Find Your
 Representative" link on the House Web site to do a zip code search to
 locate your congressional district and Representative's name. You can
 also get phone and fax numbers from the Capitol Switchboard at
 202/224-3121 If you have any questions, please contact Eileen =
Goldspiel,
 AAM Government and Public Affairs at 202/289-9125 or via email at
 egoldspiel@aam-us.org . Thank you."



--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
The reason this message is shown is because the post was in HTML
or had an attachment.  Attachments are not allowed.  To learn how
to post in Plain-Text go to: http://www.expita.com/nomime.html  ---