Letter: Need for more tax benefits to fund arts

I was interested to read Tim Cornwell's article (26 November) on the significant philanthropy that has made possible the new wing at the Boston Museum of Fine Art, and agree it would be beneficial to press for further tax benefits to help increase individual giving.

In the UK we do have Gift Aid plus other tax benefits to encourage philanthropy, and we are working with the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy at the University of Edinburgh Business School to assist cultural organisations to use these more effectively.

On 6 December we launch the Big Arts Give website that offers individuals the opportunity to support a wide range of UK arts projects, with every pound they donate being doubled from pledges and added to by the Gift Aid scheme, with the aim of raising more than 2 million for the arts.

However, we should not overlook the generosity of the many existing philanthropists in the UK.

On Monday I was at St James Palace, where our president, the Prince of Wales, was presenting medals for art philanthropy to five exemplars. Among those being honoured were Anthony and Anne d'Offay, whose donation of almost their entire art collection jointly to the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland is estimated to be worth around 100m.

Further evidence of the robustness of arts philanthropy in the UK can be found in the donor plaques that cover the main halls of the restored Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum as these show the huge number and range of individual donors to that project.

Also, it is worth noting that the current economic crisis has had a significant negative impact on individual giving in the US.

With little government support for the arts, this has plunged a number of US cultural organisations into serious financial crisis.

In Scotland the mix of public and private support for the arts is a strength, and if we can encourage more individuals to give to the arts, that can only make our vibrant cultural scene all the more resilient

Barclay Price

Arts & Business

Abercromby Place

Edinburgh