Canadian galleries are bursting at the seams with donated art, and it’s all thanks to people trying to get in on tax breaks. Here’s how it all began: In the 1970s, Canada realized it was losing important Canadian art to foreign buyers, so it introduced generous tax credits for donating significant cultural property to public galleries. Selling a painting means paying capital gains tax on the profit, but donating it to a public gallery offers a tax credit worth 29% to 33% of the painting's value. These credits can be used to lower the donor’s tax bills within five years — a holy grail for wealthy private donors. This system has been working like a charm — maybe even too well. For example, the Art Gallery of Ontario has seen its collection grow by 23% over five years thanks to these tax incentives. So, if you’ve got a Tom Thomson painting lying around your house, it might be worth considering a donation to take advantage of those tax breaks.