Artists in Mexico have a unique option of how they want to pay their income taxes each year. If an artist is struggling to sell enough artworks to pay their income tax, they can instead opt to donate the work itself as payment.

According to the legend, the program was originally started to avoid jailing poor artists in the area. Eva Hershaw wrote in the Atlantic in 1957 that muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros "approached the secretariat of finance in 1957 with a proposal to keep a friend and fellow artist out of jail for tax evasion: Let him pay his debt in art."

In the 57 years since then, the Mexican government has collected thousands of sculptures and paintings in the Pago en Especie, or Payment in Kind program. Artists who sell less than five pieces per year can donate one work to the government, individuals who sell six to eight pieces give two and so on, donating a maximum of six pieces per year.

Director of the Cultural Promotion and National Heritage Office José San Cristóbal Larrea said to Foreign Policy that not everyone can pay taxes in art.

"A 10-member jury of artists ensures that no one tries to unload junk," Larrea said.

Artists like Teresa Cito appreciate the government's understanding with the fluxuating nature of artist's income. Cito creates oil paintings and chalk drawings, and chooses which of her creations is sent in for payment.

"My priority is to offer a nice piece," Cito said of Payment in Kind. "I admire it very, very, very much. The government says, 'Pay your taxes in artwork. Keep on painting.'"

While the deal works well for artists, it might seen surprising that the Mexican government is so lenient considering their dire financial state. According to the New York Times, Mexico currently collects "just 10.6 percent of the country's annual economic output in taxes, less than almost any other country at its level of development."