Details of the New Congressional Bill on Fractional Gifts

Here are excerpts from a welcome press release, just in from today’s Washington press conference on the new fractional-gifts bill to be introduced in Congress:
At a Capitol Hill Press conference today, U.S. Representatives Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Phil English, R-Pa., introduced bipartisan legislation to remedy overly restrictive changes made to the tax treatment of charitably donated artwork made in the “Pension Protection Act of 2006.”
The Congressmen, joined by Anita Difanis from the Associate of Art Museum Directors, say the Promotion of Artistic Giving Act of 2007 legislation modifies restrictions of the PPA that have proven chilling for art acquisition while still preventing abuses of fractional art donations….
The Udall-English “Promotion of Artistic Giving Act” (PAGA) modifies the “Pension Protection Act” (PPA) in the following ways:
Pension Protection Act of 2006
1. Requires that all fractional gifts be completed within 10 years of the initial donation.
2. Forces donors to value their fractional gifts at the lowest appraisal value of the piece at the time of the donation of the original fraction.
3. Applies estate and gift tax rules to fractional giving.
4. Requires that museums have “substantial physical possession of the property” during the donation process.
Promotion of Artistic Giving Act of 2007
1. Requires that all fractional gifts be completed within 9 months of the death of the donor.
2. Allows for fair-market value deduction for subsequent fractional donations, but prevents inflated appraisals by requiring review of donated fractions valued at $1 million to be reviewed by the Art Advisory Panel of the IRS.
3. Repeals PPA estate and gift tax provisions relating to fractional giving.
4. Retains the PPA requirement that museums have “substantial physical possession of the property” during the donation process.
Museum lovers, get ready to write your Congressmen. Has anyone checked with Sen. Chuck Grassley about all this?