Tax Incentives for Artists (Chapter 11)

Artists are key players in the creative industries who create and perform the work. Many of them are in an economically vulnerable situation and some countries prefer to have more artists than the market would otherwise allow. This desire leads those countries to enact financial support measures, such as tax incentives. In addition, goals such as preserving national culture and stimulating the economic impact of artists may also be reasons for these tax incentives. This chapter examines several examples of tax incentives, including the value-added tax exemption and reduced rate in the EU, the Theatre Tax Relief and Orchestra Tax Relief in the UK, the Theater Tax Benefit in the USA, the option for artists to pay taxes with artwork in Mexico, and the income tax exemption for authors, composers, painters and sculptors in Ireland. In the conclusion, these tax incentives are compared with the criteria for fairness, effectiveness, complexity and visibility outlined in Chap. 4 and for state aid in Chap. 5.

• View at Publisher