A tax on art to foster future Hockneys and Caros

Max Hastings's concerns on the introduction of artist's resale right (Art failure, January 3) are unfounded. He wrote of British art-market fears that those selling contemporary art will flee to countries without the right, such as Switzerland and the US (excluding California, which already has droit de suite). But a recent auction in Germany, which has enforced artist's resale right for a number of years, illustrates that this will not be the case. On December 4, works from a private US collection sold at record prices in Cologne.

Mr Hastings makes the assumption that the royalty will apply at 4% on a sale worth over €3,000 (generating a royalty of €120). But these levels are still being decided. The government has the option of lowering the threshold, for example to €2,000. At this level more of the "impoverished living artists" he talks about will stand to gain.

He also expresses concern about the collection and distribution. For 20 years Dacs has been involved in the distribution of royalty payments. We have the infrastructure in place to apply similar methods to the payment of the resale royalty without huge cost.

Artists opposing artist's resale right are in the minority. It makes more sense for the government and the art market to show their support of Britain's burgeoning creative talent - those striving for the same success as Hockney, Caro and Hodgkin.
Joanna Cave
Chief executive, Design and Artists Copyright Society

· Max Hastings is spot on over the European commission's blinkered approach. This policy has little to do with helping artists starving in garrets. Indeed, in Austria, artists even set up an action group to campaign against it.

At best, the decision to force droit de suite on us shows indifference to the importance of the British art market; at worst, it is an arrogant attempt to destroy the market to put us in our place. Droit de suite's greatest champions, Germany and France, have long acknowledged its drawbacks. The commission continues to swim against the tide.
Ivan Macquisten
Editor, ATG, the Art and Antiques weekly

· Max Hastings is doomed to fail in his defence of the interests of the dealers and auctioneers who profit at the expense of artists. The directive was passed by large majorities in the council of ministers and the parliament despite heavy lobbying by the government on behalf of Sotheby's and Christie's.

As the British MEP responsible for the culture committee's opinion on this directive, I was regularly subjected to this lobbying. But I preferred to listen to the views of 50,000 European artists. One British artist recounted a painting he sold for £10 being resold by for £10,000 with no return to him. Copyright protection is vital to writers and composers. This directive brings visual artists into line with them.
Hugh Kerr
(MEP 1994-99), Kilmarnock