Theatre and orchestra tax relief extension prompts mixed response

Jeremy Hunt said rates will be maintained at their current levels for a further two years.

Theatres on London’s Shaftesbury Avenue at night (Rick Findler/PA) (PA Archive)

The Chancellor’s decision to maintain rates of theatre and orchestra tax relief at their current levels has been “unequivocally welcomed” by some parts of the sector, while others have called for a “total reset of arts policy”.

Jeremy Hunt announced, while delivering his Budget, that the higher rates of 45% and 50% respectively will be extended for a further two years from April to help the industry amid the pandemic fallout and cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Hunt, on the film and TV industry, told the Commons: “To give even more momentum to this critical sector I will introduce an expenditure credit with a rate of 34% for film, high-end television and video games and 39% for the animation and children’s TV sectors.