§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, since his written answer to the hon. Member for Warley, 653W East, Official Report, 26 October 1979, column 358, any further objects or property have been accepted in satisfaction of state duty or capital transfer tax; and whether in specifying them he will state whether any offers or objects accepted carried conditions as to destination.
§ Mr. Peter ReesYes. A double-sided sheet of drawings by Michelangelo for The Last Judgment has been accepted in lieu of estate duty and a painting by Renoir entitled St. Tropez has been accepted in lieu of capital transfer tax.
The cost borne by the National Land Fund after allowing for relief from capital gains tax and estate duty and capital transfer tax, is £98,970 for the Michelangelo drawings and £53,065 for the Renoir painting.
Neither of the objects carried conditions as to destination.
Announcements about the allocation of these objects will be made in due course by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister with special responsibility for the arts, after taking advice from the Standing Commission on museums and galleries.
In addition, a property named Labour in Vain Farm on the Dorset coast has been accepted in lieu of estate duty at a cost to the National Land Fund of £78,250 and transferred to the National Trust.
Nearly 70 square miles of land in the Lake District, together with two lakes, has also been accepted in lieu of estate duty at a cost to the National Land Fund of £448,000.Some 32,000 acres, including Wastwater, has been transferred to the National Trust and the remaining 11,000 acres, which include Bassenthwaite lake, to the Lake District special planning board.