On Wednesday 17th April, the new Finance Bill introducing the new permanent rates of theatre tax relief had its second reading in the House of Commons. In welcoming the news, Nickie Aiken, MP for Cities of London and Westminster and Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party Board, said that the new rates would have an “extraordinarily positive impact on the art and culture sectors in the Cities of London and Westminster, as well as across the country”. She went on to say:
“The Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre recently produced a study that underscored the importance of the theatre sector to our economy. Their research showed that UK theatres generate £2.39 billion in gross value added, supporting more than 200,000 jobs and generating a total turnover of over £4.4 billion every year. I am in no doubt that this uplift in tax credits will have a positive impact on actors, musicians, costume designers, set creators, singers and those in a whole host of other jobs that rely on a strong and prosperous performing arts sector”.
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