CEWAP is the Conditionally Exempt Works of Art Appreciation Party.  Inspired by a Mark Thomas show item, CEWAP's aim is to enjoy the works of art that are owned by private individuals and which you and I are allowed to see according to the rules of the Register of Conditionally Exempt works of Art.  The details of the scheme as laid down by the Inland Revenue can be found here, but basically in return for a few conditions, people that inherit works of art can dodge Inheritance Tax (40%) by registering the items with the Inland Revenue Capital Taxes Office.  The conditions include the fact that the owners must let any member of the public view the item on request.

CEWAP isn't a rigidly organised group, it's just a title (and a wee joke) to be going on with, though there are a few other publicists of the scam scheme on the Internet (see the Links page).

You don't have to join CEWAP, if you've read this far you're a member already!  Oh, and if you do try to go and see any of the art in question, do let me know how you get on (the owners aren't always that cooperative!), and details of your visit will be posted here with your permission.  I'll try and keep the site updated with the latest statistics on the Register, any visits that we've undertaken and any things that you really ought to go and see.  There's stuff all over the country to see, so I'm sure that if you live in the UK you'll be able to find something near you.  If you live elsewhere in the world, you might want to visit some of this stuff when you visit the UK.  I know that there is quite a lot of stuff relating to the Royal family and particularly Princess Diana on the list that I'm sure some of our American friends would like to see.

In some cases the owners would rather cough up the tax rather than let anyone see their stuff, so by doing this we can be tax collectors of a sort!  And it's also fun (especially if you visit in groups) and you get to see some great stuff and meet some new people at the same time.

By the way, you could pronounce CEWAP as "see-wapp", but the preferred pronunciation is "Kwap" as that more accurately describes the fact that certain rather well-off people are misusing the government's conditional exemption scheme.