Dealers welcome delay to new art sale legislation

Date: 15/01/1998

By Leyla Linton

BRITISH art dealers have welcomed the slow progress of EU plans to ensure that artists in every member state receive a percentage of the price each time their works are sold.

Eight months after the European Parliament gave its support to the proposed new resale rights legislation, no further progress has been made on the issue. Neither the Dutch nor Luxembourg presidencies showed much enthusiasm for the proposal and it is believed the current UK presidency is also unlikely to give it top priority.

The plan has not been debated in the Council of Ministers since May 1996 and the working party has not discussed it since June last year.

Meanwhile, those opposed to the legislation are using the time to lobby against the plan. "This delay will enable us to make our arguments more widely heard," said Anthony Browne, chairman of the British Art Market Federation (BAMF), although he added that some of his organisation's members might already be considering what to do if and when the legislation was agreed.

"If one has the sword of Damocles over one's head, one starts making plans," he said.

The proposed new directive would harmonise resale rights across the Union for the first time. In April, MEPs voted in favour of artists receiving 4% of the sale price for works costing between 500 and 50,000 ecu, 3% for works between 50,000 and 100,000 ecu, and 1% for works priced at more than 100,000 ecu.

The Commission had proposed a higher initial threshold of 1,000 ecu, but MEPs said they wanted younger artists to benefit from the legislation.

While the proposal would mean the introduction of resale rights in the UK, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands for the first time, it would result in lower payments for artists whose work is sold in France and Germany.

The BAMF, whose members include UK leading auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's, argues that the legislation would simply mean that works by EU artists would be sold outside the Union to avoid the charge.

"All eyes seem to be focused on the need for a level playing-field inside Europe, without much regard to the effect that this might have on our ability to compete with the outside world," said Browne, who insisted vendors would not be able to absorb the resale rights into their profit margin. "It is a no-win situation."