Facts needed to determine cost to State

The retention of the tax exemption for artists would appear to be a foregone conclusion following the forceful argument put forward yesterday in its defence by Arts Minister John O’Donoghue.

While it has enhanced the country’s image as a patron of the arts, it would be interesting to be able to peruse up-to-date figures for what that image is costing.

Mr O’Donoghue was only able to quote from Revenue Commissioners’ figures dating back to 2001 to show that over 50% of beneficiaries had earnings of less than €10,000 and most earned less than €50,000.

In principle, there should be no objection to encouraging artists to remain here with tax exemptions, especially those who need the break.

However, as only 2% of artists account for 58% of the exempted income, there should be more current information about who, and how much, was exempted to help in any debate about a possible cap.