Donors of gifts of art to charities have been able to claim a charitable contribution deduction since The Revenue Act of 1917, the first significant tax bill passed by Congress after ratification of the 16th Amendment authorizing an income tax. The value of the deduction for taxpayers fluctuated from time to time for more than half a century thereafter, with no special processing and generally in line with the value of deductions for other types of gifts.
There seemed to be a general consensus within Congress and the general public that charitable contribution deductions helped support charities do things that the government would not or could not do. Some critics argued that the deductions incentivized the “looting of antiquities” by allowing individuals to import, or maybe steal, antiquities from abroad at relatively little or no cost and make their money by giving the items to museums and taking a deduction based on a very generous valuation of the items. The criticism seemed to have little impact on the system.
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