Multiple bites of the cheery

I am not a major art buyer, but on principle I’m far from enthused about the Government’s proposal that you never own an artwork you pay for outright, and that if you resell it you have to pay 5% every time to the artist who sold it in the first place.

Sure it means a new artist may sell something for $1,000 when they start off, which later becomes more valuable and worth say $50,000. But if their reputation has grown so much, then the artist will be able to produce more artworks at current prices.

And as the article points out, a 5% resale clause can be inserted into existing contracts for those artists and buyers who agree to them.