The comments have local politicians looking to state legislators for some sort of guarantee program, says Buck Landry, a managing director at Morgan Keegan, a Memphis investment bank that dominates the market for underwriting tax-exempt municipal and local bonds in the region.
The basic rule for donations of art and collectibles is this: If you've held the work for more than a year and the recipient charity uses it in a manner related to its tax-exempt purpose, you can deduct the work's fair market value, while not paying the usual 28% tax on the appreciation.