The tax man cometh
Guardian Unlimited | Arts news | £33m tax bill could close orchestras
British orchestras face a £33m tax bill that, if collected, could “kill them all off in one fell swoop” according to one orchestra insider. “The problem is so gigantic that literally everyone would go bust,” said another symphony orchestra source.
The liability for the tax bill is understood to have come “out of the blue” only weeks ago. Orchestras are now holding emergency meetings with Arts Council England, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to try to solve the crisis.
I’m not sure what this source meant by “weeks ago” but my orchestra (entirely freelance, and perpetually short of cash) and the MU were aware of this problem three months ago. What strikes me as even stranger is that it took the Inland Revenue seven years to figure out that a rule change designed for one particular group of workers in the arts could be applied to another in order to collect a few extra millions.
If they insist on pursuing these debts it will be nothing more than vindictive pedantry aimed at an industry that simply cannot afford it - but then, that’s not surprising at all. Don’t worry though, the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are on the case. I feel better already.
