UK Music Chief urges Chancellor Rishi Sunak to scrap VAT increase on concert tickets

Ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Statement next week, UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin has written to Rishi Sunak with a list of six measures "that would support the music inndustry in its recovery and return to growth."

Njoku-Goodwin's first point is to scrap a VAT increase on live event tickets set for April. Currently, there is a 12.5% VAT charge on live events tickets, and the Chancellor is looking to increase it to 20% on 1 April. The UK Music Chief wrote, "The Government’s move during the pandemic to reduce VAT on live events was very welcome. However, the government is set to increase this in April. We ask you to drop this planned rise and maintain VAT at 12.5% to ensure that profit from sales could be reinvested in productions, pay debts and keep the price of tickets down. At a time when the cost of living is of much concern to people and families across the UK, keeping VAT at this level will avoid a “cost of gigging crisis”. This would ensure the live sector could lay a firm long-term foundation for recovery. It should be noted that many music businesses were not able to return until summer 2021 and therefore missed out on much of the reduced VAT period."

The UK Music boss also highlighted the need for a Business Rate Relief extension for all music spaces until 2024/25, a Transitional Support Fund for EU touring, tax relief schemes for the music industry, a recovery fund for freelancers and more.

In a separate statement, Njoku-Goodwin said, "The planned hike in VAT could not come at a worse time for millions of music fans and the live music industry, which was shut down for almost two years due to the pandemic. We saw during those grim periods of lockdown just how important music was to people’s mental health and how it helped us get through some really tough times."

"Pushing up VAT to 20% would be hugely damaging for the music industry and leave music fans facing a cost of gigging crisis," he added. "The rise would come at a time when we are rebuilding post-COVID-19, with hundreds of concerts planned over the next few months."