In the close-knit world of artists and gallery owners, the good news spread like wildfire Wednesday — original art is now tax-free.

On Tuesday, state officials selected five St. Tammany Parish communities — Lacombe, Old Mandeville, Olde Towne Slidell, Abita Springs and downtown Covington — as cultural districts. The designation wipes away state and local sales tax on original local art purchases and/or gives tax incentives to restore buildings 50 years or older.

“We’re so excited about this,” Sharon Delong, executive director of the Slidell Art League, said. “We have such a cultural rich area in Louisiana and in particularly south Louisiana, You can’t deny it has a huge economic impact.”

Danny Saladino, owner of Gallery NU on Boston Street in Covington, says the new tax incentives on local art purchases are a '��deal maker.'�� (Staff Photo by Matthew Penix)

The program, born out of an initiative by Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and approved by state lawmakers last year, will cut local and state sales tax from any original, one of a kind, art piece sold in the districts. Homeowners and developers will also see a 10 to 25 percent tax break to restore buildings 50 years old or older. The idea is to boost local economies.

The sales tax exemption won’t start until Nov. 1, but contractors can apply for renovation credits immediately.

Danny Saladino, owner of Gallery Nu on Boston Street in Covington, called the move a “deal maker or breaker.”

“If someone is looking at a $1,000 piece or a $10,000 piece, saving (8.75 percent in local sales tax) can be huge,” he said.

Saladino, who is hosting a show of original Pablo Picasso pieces, including drawings, prints and ceramics on loan from the New Orleans Museum of Art during Fall for Art 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, thinks the art business will now boom.

Gaye Hamilton, the program’s director, agreed.

“If (revenue projections) are good, everyone will get out and apply,” she said.

While it’s too early to tell how much money the cultural districts will reap, similar initiatives, such as Downtown Development Districts and Main Street Community designations, have “sparked millions of dollars in renovations” of buildings alone, Hamilton said.

And in 2000, St. Tammany’s art scene alone was worth $18 million, Suzanne Parsons Stymiest, a parish spokeswoman, has said. Now, the designations could boost that number even higher.

“People want to live and work in an area with good cultural and recreation assets,” she said. “And those reputations help us grow. A street alone doesn’t make a community.”

Behind New Orleans, St. Tammany, “one of our shining stars,” was awarded the most cultural districts statewide with five, Hamilton said. In all, 29 districts were approved and applications from at least seven others parishes are likely to pour in by the programs second annual deadline this December, Hamilton said.

The program will monitor the progress by year-end tax collections and subjective data from art leaders in the district, she said.

Either way it plays out, Delong is beaming.

“To be a part of this enterprise zone, it’s going to do nothing but help,” she said.