O’Donoghue reaffirms support for artists’ tax exemption
Arts Minister John O'Donoghue has reaffirmed his support for the tax exemption available to artists, musicians and writers in Ireland.
The scheme is currently being reviewed by the Department of Finance along with a number of other controversial tax breaks.
The Arts Council opposes any move to abolish the exemption and, speaking at a conference in Dublin today, Mr O'Donoghue said he also believed the measure should be retained.
The minister said the scheme had increased the level of artistic activity in Ireland and was also sending out the right messages abroad.
He added that he would even be cautious about introducing an income threshold for the scheme as this could encourage wealthy beneficiaries to leave their money abroad.
