Painter angered by planned tax

DENPASAR, Bali: The owner of the Museum of Classical Balinese Paintings, Nyoman Gunarsa, has threatened to sell 517 paintings from his 30-year-old collection and turn the museum into a business if he has to pay tax.

"If taxes are imposed on my museum, I will sell my collection, including the centuries-old classical Balinese paintings," he said Thursday.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that museums should not have to pay tax.

He said he recently got a letter from the local tax office asking him to pay land and building tax on his museum or produce a decree from the Minister of Education and Culture on the establishment of his museum.

He later received a similar letter from the Directorate General for Taxation's director of Land and Buildings.

Gunarsa's museum is Indonesia's only collector of classical Balinese paintings.