Picasso won in $140 raffle might cost $365K in taxes

Even though the price he had to pay for a $1 million Picasso painting was just a $140 raffle ticket, the taxes on the piece might prevent a Pennsylvania man from keeping the one-of-a-kind piece of artwork.

Jeffrey Gonano, 25, was awarded the Picasso after an international drawing on Wednesday and he’s since found out that taxes on the painting could cost about $365,000.

Gonano is considering giving the piece to a local museum. “It would be nice to keep it in Pittsburgh,” he said.

He’s requested that the organizers of the contest hold onto the painting until he can figure out the details about the taxes and how he is going to pay to insure the piece.

The 1914 painting, “L'Homme au Gibus” (“Man with Opera Hat”), was raffled off by The International Association to Save Tyre.

“I'm pretty eager to see it,” Gonano said. “This is crazy. I'm still in shock.”

If Gonano was able to get the piece appraised at less than $1 million, the taxes would decrease.

“‘Value' can mean different things to different people,” said accountant Ken McCrory. “Even if you have it, you have to ask if you want to spend that much to have a small painting on your wall.”

[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]