A column signed by many renowned artists published in The world, feverish exchanges between dealers and gallery owners on social networks, Gabriel Attal, Minister Delegate in charge of public accounts, making it his duty to meet urgently, if not to reassure all these beautiful people, Bercy ensuring that “nothing should endanger the art market in France or discourage its players”rarely has a press article caused such a stir.
Titled “How France is preparing to scuttle its art market”, it is due to our colleague Martine Robert, Echos. She writes that our country, which in twenty years has risen from 3% to 7% of the world art market and now alone accounts for half of the European market, was going to “shoot yourself in the foot” by adopting – it must be adopted before 1is January 2025 – a directive from the Council of the European Union (EU) dated April 2022 which increases VAT, currently 5.5% (a French exception) to 20% on the sale of works of art, but also on their import from non-EU countries.
The current rate of 5.5% makes France, the lowest bidder in this area, the preferred gateway for importing works into Europe. It is, just as much – if not more – than the proliferation of foundations or the remarkable increase in art lovers and collectors, one of the reasons why for several years, and more precisely since Brexit, all the major foreign dealers opened a branch in Paris.
Ancient painting and up to modern art
The Parisian gallery owner Kamel Mennour wonders: “I will now hesitate to take new artists, if the increase is such that I cannot sell them. » Currently, like his colleagues, he only contributes VAT on the margin he makes on resale, not on the full price of the work. The same, who represents several big international names in France, of those who have a different gallery in each country, will find it difficult to explain to his European clients why they can buy such and such an artist in New York or London 20% cheaper. than at his house.
Another problem arises for old painting and up to modern art. Many masterpieces, particularly French art, are currently the property of foreign private collections. A merchant or an auction house, tempted up to now to offer them on the Parisian market where the names of Nicolas de Staël or Soulages stir French hearts more than those of New Yorkers, will therefore hesitate to do so, unless the end buyer resides outside the EU. In any other area of the economy, if the balance between exports and imports is favorable to the former, the country becomes richer. In art, it is the opposite: the heritage is impoverished.
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