The "Payment in Kind" Program in Mexico Allows Artists to Pay Taxes With Art

Mexican officials say that tax incentives for artists are good for the country's national identity.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

The deadline to file taxes in the United States is April 15, so if you're reading this and haven't done so yet, you may want to start panicking now. Our neighbors to the south  in Mexico pay taxes too, but Mexican artists who participate in the "Pago en Especie" (Payment in Kind) program have the unique privilege of substituting works of art for money owed to the federal government.

According to The Atlantic, the program was established in 1957 when muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros requested that the secretariat of finance allow his friend to pay his taxes with art to avoid jail for tax evasion. Today, the program has a collection of over 7,000 paintings, sculptures, and other works. Artists donate one piece if they sell between one and five works during the year and the more one sells, the more they donate (up to five). 

The Atlantic says that Mexican officials have never calculated the revenue lost to the program and that supporting the arts through tax incentives is more important because the arts are an important part of their national identity. We can confidently say that this would never happen in the US, but if by some miracle it does, we will be first in line to sign up.

[via The Atlantic]

Latest in Style