Not necessarily Pinhole but the entire artistic community....

I received this today & thought it was important to forward this to the
community. A number of us try to either make a living or supplement their
living with our art.
sorry for the intrusion
andy

> To all artists: About a month ago a few artists were invited by
Congressman
> Rush Holt to attend a meeting in Washington DC to discuss the unfair laws
> pertaining to artists and especially concerning estate taxes. If an
artist
> dies, under the present law, his or her unsold paintings are given a
value,
> and the estate is taxed accordingly. Before an artist's passing, however,
> the same work is given no value by the IRS. Also, as you know, if an
artist
> donates a painting to a charity, the artist can only deduct the cost of
the
> paint and paper, but the person who buys the artwork can donate it to
> another charity and can then legally call it all a tax-deductible
expense.
> It is incredibly unfair! But there is hope!
> Artists are trying to get support for a new bill which would correct
> the inequities artists suffer under the present laws. The new law is being
> introduced by Congressman Nadler of NYC, but it is being held up from a
vote
> in the Ways and Means Committee by Congressman (and Chairman) Bill Thomas
of
> Bakersfield, California, who will not even let the Nadler Bill come up for
a
> vote. It is recommended that artists write:
> Chairman Bill Thomas, Committee on Ways and Means, 1102 Longworth
House
> Office Building, Washington, DC 20515.
Received on Mon Jun 3 13:15:30 2002