The rules governing taxes on art purchases ‘aren’t clear, and there is a huge matrix of complexity people get trapped in,’ says tax accountant David Lifson. Illustration: Michael Sloan for The Wall Street JournalStates are cracking down on art collectors who aren’t paying taxes owed on their purchases. States don’t release details about investigations into evasion of taxes on art purchases. But according to lawyers representing defendants in such cases, state attorneys general and revenue departments around the country have stepped up their investigations and prosecutions for failure to pay sales and use taxes on art purchases. San Diego tax attorney Sam Brotman says that the increased focus by state officials isn’t just on uncollected taxes on purchases of art.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 11, 2017 02:03 UTC