Popular Sociology

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Art, Taxes, and Inequality

"Art + Taxes = The Dirty Truth" -- The Art Assignment, 2018, 9:18 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZz2PhTQJCA

How is art used to further class inequalities? Through shady purchasing and lending, the upper class is able to write off much of the value of their art for tax breaks. This video shows us how lucrative "investing" in expensive art drains funds from public services in addition to robbing the public from the art's cultural contributions. We see how art is stripped of its cultural and social capital in the pursuit of increasing its monetary capital. The case is made that we need to regulate the art market. 

From the video's description: It's tax season in the United States, and the art market is one of the many ways rich people game the system to save billions of dollars in taxes each year. Here's how it's done.