Tax reform for the arts and culture must be linked to better paid jobs and conditions for workers

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) has warned tax relief to support the arts and cultural sectors, must be supported by structural solutions to deliver meaningful wage increases and safer workplaces.

At the Art of Tax Reform Summit today, the union has called for the introduction of a comprehensive cultural workforce policy that would, in addition to providing sustainable funding, address the underlying causes of low incomes in the sector, including by reducing the level of precarious work.

The call reiterates MEAA’s submission to the NSW Government’s cultural tax reform consultation last month, where MEAA is urged that recipients of tax relief be required to ensure they are providing union-standard pay and conditions to better support the workforce.

MEAA Chief Executive Erin Madeley said the arts and cultural sectors were a cornerstone of the nation’s economic and social life but workers needed better recognition and reward for their work and action to address workplace safety.

“These sectors contribute more than $17 billion to the Australian economy and are a major creator of jobs, employing 228,000 people.

“Yet, our arts and cultural sectors are in crisis, largely the result of being subjected to unpredictable and inconsistent political commitments over decades, with only fleeting attempts to recognise their true value.

“Tax reform is a necessary and important piece of the puzzle in addressing the decline in arts and culture, but it is just one aspect of what must be a comprehensive response to the crisis.

“We simply must address the underlying causes of low incomes in the sector, including by reducing the level of precarious work.

“We have already seen tax incentives for the screen industry, without this leading to proportionate flow-on benefits to workers.

“Instead, we need a comprehensive response to address funding shortfalls, the decline of public participation in the arts, the systemic crisis of wages and work in the sector, as well as safer workplaces.”

For much of the past 20 years, funding for arts and culture in Australia has been in decline, and the nation ranks 26th out of 33 OECD countries for government investment in ‘recreation, culture and religion’.

A recent survey of NSW-based MEAA members revealed strong support for tax reform, as part of a wider set of measures to strengthen the sector:

• 79% strongly support the removal or reduction of taxes on prizes, grants, and awards

• 81% support measures to allow artists to claim more for expenses related to their art production

• Almost three-quarters strongly support tax offsets for live music venues

• 79% support tax offsets for the theatre industry.

Ms Madeley said a consequence of declining investment in arts and culture was the evisceration of stable work, good jobs, and careers.

“Incomes across the industry are consistently low and the majority of the cultural workforce is engaged as contractors and freelancers in jobs that are largely unregulated and inherently precarious,” she said.

“Within this work, there are often no minimum rates of pay, superannuation is almost non-existent, and late payment is common.

“Overall, our members broadly support proposed measures to establish tax offsets for both the theatre industry and live music venues.

“However, this is contingent on the expectation that recipient organisations will, as a condition of this funding, provide stable and fair employment for employees.

“If government money is to be used to subsidise commercial operations in the theatre and live music industries, then it must be accompanied by a commitment to provide good, safe, and sustainable jobs.”

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