Tax Windfall

The Russian magnate Vladimir Logvinenko has the ambition to bring into St Petersburg again and to other Russian Museums, outstanding paintings. For a long time, he could not bring this to fruition. But the removal of Russia's 30% import tax on arts and antiquities at the end of last year has coincided, fortuitously, with his importation of Rubens 'The Union of Earth and Water', to hang in the Hermitage. The painting is worth 15 million or so. By waiting 'til the whistle blew, Logveninko has saved himself a tidy 5 million.