Collectors shifting with tax talk

At Art Paris this week, dealers said buying interest stayed firm even as France’s tax debate pushed collectors toward lower-priced works and faster decisions. (grandpalais.fr) (connaissancedesarts.com) The fair ran from April 9 to 12 at the Grand Palais in Paris and brought together about 165 exhibitors from 20 countries for its 28th edition. Art Paris returned to the renovated nave after what organizers called a triumphant 2025 comeback. (grandpalais.fr) (artparis.com) The tax issue dates to October 31, 2025, when French deputies adopted amendments during debate on the 2026 Finance Bill that would fold artworks into a tax on “unproductive wealth.” One amendment set a flat 1 percent levy above a threshold described as between 1.3 million euros and 2 million euros, while another would tax “luxury goods” held by holding companies at 20 percent. (artbasel.com) (connaissancedesarts.com) French law has long treated art differently from other assets. Art Basel said works had been excluded from France’s big wealth-tax regimes since the Impôt sur les grandes fortunes in 1982, then the Impôt de solidarité sur la fortune, and later the real-estate-only Impôt sur la fortune immobilière created in 2018. (artbasel.com) That history helps explain the market’s reaction. The Comité Professionnel des Galeries d’Art said the measure would break with decades of policy, and The Art Newspaper reported that 27 organizations signed a joint statement warning that collectors could shift purchases, storage, and conservation to Switzerland, the United States, or the United Kingdom. (connaissancedesarts.com) (theartnewspaper.com) Backers of the change framed it as a broader wealth-tax reform, not an attack on art alone. Opponents, including gallery groups and Art Basel, said France would be “virtually alone” among major art centers if simple ownership of artworks became taxable. (artbasel.com) (theartnewspaper.com) France’s position in the market raises the stakes. The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 said France was the world’s fourth-largest art market in 2025, with sales of $4.5 billion, up 9 percent year over year. (ubs.com) The global backdrop is steadier than it was a year ago. UBS said worldwide art sales rose 4 percent in 2025 to $59.6 billion after declines in 2023 and 2024, which helps explain why fair organizers and dealers could describe the mood in Paris as upbeat even with tax uncertainty hanging over the aisles. (ubs.com) (connaissancedesarts.com) For now, the fair shows a split screen: confidence on the floor, caution in the bidding strategy. Collectors are still buying in Paris, but the tax talk has made price, structure, and where a work will be held part of the sale. (connaissancedesarts.com)