It’s not often brass bands steal the headlines on Budget Day in the House of Commons, but what should have been a welcome announcement of help for the musical arts by the Chancellor George Osborne, seems to have backfired within hours of it being made from the dispatch box.

Tax relief

It concerned the proposals for Orchestra Tax Relief — and plans to extend the ‘creative sector tax relief’ that had already been put in place to help film, theatre and television companies with up to 25% relief on production and touring costs.

The criteria was ‘to incentivise’ orchestras to ‘ensure that a wide range of audiences can enjoy orchestral performances across the UK.’

Elitism

However, the Chancellor (a noted Wagner fan) and his Whitehall apparatchiks were hastily bombarded with claims of ‘elitism’ and ‘cultural snobbery’ after the fine print revealed that the proposal did not include brass bands, bagpipe bands, steel bands or even other orchestras if they didn’t include players from ‘each’ of the string, woodwind, brass and percussion sections.

Chamber groups and ensembles with noted international reputations such as the Britten Sinfonia, the London Mozart Players and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, were therefore excluded — as were all brass bands and even pop and rock groups.

Pun laden

Articles in ‘The New Statesman’, The Guardian’ and even ‘The Daily Telegraph’ highlighted the apparent ‘unequal tax break’ oversight.

However, it would appear that pun laden headlines such as ‘Brassed Off Treasury’ and ‘Trumpet Tax’, alongside observations that brass bands were ‘…a big deal in the north of England’, may not have actually helped shed light on a form of tax relief that experts have already said would not have any significant impact on the majority of brass bands anyway.

Corporation Tax

Even though the wording has now been changed, it is understood the relief still only applies to a business that is ‘incorporated and engaged in the production of live performances’. Entertainment with ‘a competitive element’ is excluded.

Relief will take the form of an additional deduction for Corporation Tax purposes which can be surrendered for a payable tax credit.

It is not payable for day to day running costs, marketing or advertising, administration, oversea travel or subsistence, but is available to be offset from player and artist fees, rehearsal costs, venue hire, hire or commissioning of musical sores and relevant travel and subsistence within the UK.

Not applicable

With a growing number of bands already registered as charities and not as incorporated businesses, the relief will not apply anyway.

However, that did not stop opposition MPs taking the opportunity to lambast the Chancellor for showing ‘his true colours’ as Labour’s Michael Dugher said.

“Buried away in the small print of his budget is a betrayal of brass bands… who won’t get the benefit of this tax break because they are not considered worthy.”

may not have actually helped shed light on a form of tax relief that experts have already said would not have any significant impact on the majority of brass bands anyway4BR

15 minutes of fame

Meanwhile, Shadow Culture Minister rather clumsily punned his way though his attack with; “The sound you can hear is not Osborne blowing his own trumpet. It’s the drum roll heralding a humiliating U-turn. It’s a shame Osborne had such a tin ear in the first place. Once again the Tories are out of tune with the whole country.”

It seems brass bands have enjoyed their 15 minutes of political fame…