Arts Council England has published its annual review of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, which has introduced £49.4 million worth of treasures into the public collections of the country this year.
The Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) scheme allows those who have a bill for Inheritance Tax to offset part of those taxes by donating important cultural, scientific or historic objects to the nation. The items accepted through this scheme are allocated to public collections and are available for everyone to engage with and enjoy. Items have been allocated across the UK, ranging from some of the smallest museums and galleries to national institutions.
In 2012/13, cultural objects worth a total of £49.4 million, including the first Cultural gift, were allocated to national institutions, and in 2011/12, £31.3 million. The acceptance of these objects has settled £30 million worth of tax. Since 2004 £224.9 million of cultural worth has been acquired for the nation.
The annual review reveals that in the past year alone, 30 cases of major cultural significance and beauty have been allocated, including:
- a striking portrait of John Ruskin, painted by John Millais, the cause of much scandal in the nineteenth-century art world, and currently the subject of the upcoming film Effie,
- four items from the estate of Lucian Freud, including a Corot painting permanently allocated to the National Gallery, and
- the first ever items accepted through the Cultural gifts scheme: letters and lyrics penned by John Lennon, now a permanent part of the British Library collection.
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