§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the impact of proposed taxes on the London art market. [99520]
§ Dr. HowellsI have been asked to reply.
An independent assessment of the potential impact of artists' resale right (droit de suite) carried out earlier this year concluded: that by 2005, sales of works eligible for the right could fall by as much as 78 per cent. (from –280 million to –61 million) resulting in a loss of earnings by British auctioneers and dealers of –57 million per annum; and that sales of all works (eligible and
218W
Table A: DSS annually managed expenditure £ million Projections 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Retirement Pensions 37,514 38,280 40,214 Christmas bonus 120 121 122 Widow's benefits 976 946 1,124 Jobseeker's Allowance (Contribution-based) 522 543 560 Incapacity Benefit 7,028 6,942 7,080 Statutory Sick Pay 28 29 29 Maternity Allowance 39 46 56 Statutory Maternity Pay 562 587 618 Guardian's Allowance and Child Special Allowance 2 2 2 Non-Contributory Retirement Pension 27 26 26 Non-Contributory Christmas Bonus 16 16 17 War Pensions 1,230 1,161 1,122 Attendance Allowance 2,821 2,894 3,067 Invalid Care Allowance 805 827 879 Severe Disablement Allowance 1,017 1,028 1,041 Disability Living Allowance 5,611 5,845 6,294 Disability Working Allowance 44 — — Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 744 767 810 Industrial Death Benefit 51 50 49 non-eligible works) could fall by up to –750 million (23 per cent.), putting thousands of jobs at risk, as vendors placed the whole of their business elsewhere to avoid paying resale royalties on that part of the lot subject to the right.