In this current climate of diminishing government funding, it is important for us to turn to other means of supporting public purposes, philanthropy being one. Britain therefore has wisely looked to America where they have never had the same level of government support for social causes. The percentage of individual charitable giving to GDP is more than double in the United States than in the UK. A key issue is tax incentives. Gifts of capital and assets in Britain do not have an allowance similar to that on gifts of shares, and the recent review by Sir Nicholas Goodison, Securing the Best for our Museums: Private Giving and Government Support, published by H. M. Treasury in January 2004, recommended a tax allowance to encourage getting more art into museums. Sadly nothing was done to implement this recommendation. But without obvious and understandable tax benefits the rich are unlikely to put as much back into the community as they do in the United States.

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