Art Collectors: Tax Implications of Judgment No. 19363/2024

The recent Supreme Court ruling No. 19363/2024 has reignited the debate on the taxation of art collectors. The case concerned the sale of a work by Monet, inherited over seven years earlier and sold with a significant capital gain. The Inland Revenue considered this gain as income from occasional business activity, taxable for IRPEF purposes.

The ruling reiterated the tripartition of art investors: dealers, who operate professionally; pure collectors, who buy for pleasure and not for profit; and occasional speculators, whose gains may be taxed if relevant. In this case, the intervention of an auction house and the museum display of the work suggested speculative intent, confirming taxation.

The decision highlights the urgency of a tax reform that better clarifies the criteria for exemption, such as the sale of inherited works or the reinvestment of proceeds in other works.

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