English Heritage (EH) has called on the government to introduce tax breaks and funding similar to that seen in continental Europe for owners of historic buildings.
Speaking this week at the launch of an audit into the historic environment, EH’s chief executive Simon Thurley said that privately owned historic property should be eligible for tax relief for maintenance costs.
The State of the Historic Environment report, published by EH in conjunction with 19 other heritage organisations, stated: “Privately owned historic property, although it contributes greatly to the economy, does not enjoy the tax status available to charities or the government funding that supports English Heritage.
“Britain is the only major European country that does not allow some form of relief against tax for the maintenance of historic properties open to the public.
“Bringing the UK into line with European practice on this would make a significant difference to the presentation of many of these properties.”
More historic houses open to the public in England are privately owned than in the care of English Heritage and the National Trust combined.
One suggestion made by the report is to cut the VAT on repair work and maintenance while raising the zero rate of VAT on new build.
However, it also stated that more tax arrangements would have to be considered “in the future”.
The quango added that changes need to be made to stop families being forced to sell priceless works of art to pay for repairs.
The report stated: “Twenty six per cent of capital repairs at historic houses are funded each year by sales of works of art. This can seriously damage the entity of which both the house and its collections form part.”
The Duke of Northumberland was recently obliged to put Raphael painting The Madonna of the Pinks – which is on loan to the National Gallery – up for auction in a bid to raise the £30m needed for the maintenance of his family estate at Alnwick Castle.
EGi News 26/11/02
