Please help me understand this better...

[Julie Deane]

Here's a situation I haven't seen mentioned before and I am confused by it.

Suppose a church has an "art contest". Actually, they have an art budget , they want to buy art along a certain theme for the church, and they have put out a general call for entries. They plan to pay a certain amount for each piece of art they like, and they only plan on buying about six works total .

The question I have is this: Is this considered a purchase or just winnings from the artist's point of view?

If it is a purchase, then there is (to me anyway) a confusing issue of sales tax/no sales tax to consider.

Your thoughts would help me understand this type of situation better. Thanks!