Davison and Tubridy awarded tax-free status on book projects

FORMER Miss World, Rosanna Davison, and Late Late show presenter, Ryan Tubridy, have been granted tax-free status by the Revenue Commissioners under the artists’ exemption scheme.

They are among 93 new additions to the list of tax-free artists, which includes 27 painters and illustrators, 26 authors, 15 musicians and composers, 16 sculptors and nine scriptwriters and playwrights.

Ms Davison gets the perk for her share of earnings from the children’s book, The Girl in the Yellow Dress.

The book was written by Marisa Mackle and illustrated by Ms Davison who said it was her first time “to turn my passion for art into a professional venture”.

It reached number five in the Irish children’s book charts and a second children’s book by the duo, Lucy Goes to Hollywood, is due to be published next month.

Mr Tubridy was granted tax-free status on earnings from his book JFK in Ireland after an application for artistic recognition received a “favourable determination” from the Revenue. It tells the story of US president John F Kennedy’s four-day trip to Ireland in June 1963 when he visited Dublin, Cork and his ancestral home in Co Wexford. JFK was the first US president to visit Ireland. His great-grandfather Patrick left Dunganstown for Boston in 1848.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan severely curtailed the artists’ exemption scheme in the December budget, reducing the threshold from €125,000 to €40,000.

The scheme was introduced by the late Charles Haughey in 1969 and up until 2006 it was unique in the world for allowing artists to keep every cent of their earnings, though they did pay PRSI.

The first cap on earnings of €250,000 was introduced in the 2006 budget.

Before the scheme was capped one mystery artist — thought to be one of the country’s super-rich rock stars — earned €10 million in a year under the scheme without paying any tax.