12th December 2024
NSW Minister for Music and the Arts, John Graham, has announced a ‘tax summit’ focused on the ‘arts and creative industries’. The Cultural Tax Reform Summit will look at taxation on major prizes such as the Archibald Prize, and proposals from APRA AMCOS for a tax rebate for live music, and from Live Performance Australia to develop tax incentives for live music and theatre productions.
“We promised a ‘whole of government’ approach to arts policy, and nothing says ‘whole of government’ like putting a bunch of our best treasury boffins in a room with our state’s best creatives,” said Graham.
The tax offset for live music proposed by APRA AMCOS for could help meet the demand found in the recent Live Music Census released by Winarch Group, which found that a minority of audiences think there is sufficient live music infrastructure near them, and 50% would like venues closer to where they live. One of the major findings of this years Live Music Census was that ticket prices were the main issue for audiences, not surprising given the current cost of living challenges.
Meanwhile, COSBOA has been advocating for the Instant Asset Write Off (IAWO) scheme to be made permanent, and the threshold raised from $20,000. “The threshold of $20,000 has not been reviewed in a decade and is no longer fit for purpose.” said COSBOA CEO Luke Achterstraat. “Many productive items like tractors, commercial refrigeration and industrial machinery are well beyond the current threshold.”
The IAWO can be used by small businesses including live music venues and artists investing in music and performance equipment such as instruments, recording and live performance equipment, backline and lighting. This in turn can benefit the music products industry, where the vast majority of businesses are small businesses and can also use the IAWO, at a time when profitability is the #1 issue according to the AMA’s State of the Industry Report.
The Summit will be an initiative of the NSW Government, which would ultimately have to advocate to the Federal Government to make most or all of the suggested changes.
Read more in the Sydney Morning Herald
The AMA is a member of COSBOA.
