Spain’s live music and theatre industries are protesting against VAT rates for live events in the country with ‘A Day Without Music’ on May 20.
A collective that includes the country’s Association of Music Promoters (APM) and at least five other music trade bodies have signed up to refuse to put on concerts or music events on the date.
The APM says that “even though were are coming out of a [financial] crisis, the current Government forces us all to pay a VAT rate of 21% to consume live music, which is almost three times the average for other the main countries of the Euro Zone.” It adds that “live music is in danger of disappearing from our country”.
The group’s Change.org petition castigates the fact that a licensed bar in Spain only pays half the VAT rate of a live music venue – 10% – until an artist starts performing music on their premises. “Is this not absurd?”, asks APM.
The body is aiming to gather 500,000 signatures and present them in Congress, demanding a change in the law to bring the VAT rate down.
The 21% rate certainly leaves Spain with one of the highest VAT rates for live music event income in Europe. The government in sister country Portugal enforces a 13% VAT rate, with Italy on 10%, Germany on 7%, Holland & Belgium on 6% and France on 5.5%.
The Spanish Government previously charged music events an 8% VAT rate, but this was suddenly raised in September 2012 to 21%.
APM says this has had “several dramatic effects on our industry”. They note that there has been an 18% reduction in the number of Spanish citizens attending live music concerts took place in 2013 compared to 2008,and that international superstar artists are typically only playing one city – Madrid or Barcelona – rather than both in their global tours.
It bemoans high levels of business closures, job losses and job insecurity, slamming these “tragic effects that have arisen directly from a measure that is as absurd as it is regressive”.
The group also points out that the governments of France, The Netherlands and Portugal have reduced VAT levies on live music venues after protestation from their local industrys.
It adds that this is a “real problem that affects everyone, from those who produce music to and especially, those who consume it”.Music Business Worldwide
