Bums on seats.

The City AM at its innumerate best:

London’s theatreland will be forced to pay an estimated £31m in property taxes over the next five years once the government’s planned hike in business rates comes into effect in April.

The total rates bill for theatres in the West End will rise by nearly 40 per cent to £6.3m for the 2017 to 2018 year alone, according to figures compiled by City A.M.

They couldn't find anybody from theatre-land stupid enough to complain about this - as a general rule, one group owns the physical theatre building and a quite separate promoter puts on the actual play - so they recycle this rent-a-quote:

The New West End Company, a lobby group for the West End*, has warned that the dramatic tax changes could lead to job losses and reduced investment for the capital’s retailers.

* If you look at the company accounts, you will note that at least half their directors represent landlords, not retailers.

Let's try and put those numbers in perspective, shall we?

From The Stage (figures possibly a little out of date but not wildly wrong):

West End theatres have reported a 12th year of growth at the box office, but attendances to London shows have remained flat.

Overall, there were gross sales of £633 million in 2015, up 1.6% on the previous year, when box office revenue was £623 million. However, the 2015 figures are based on a 52-week year, compared with the 53 weeks in 2014.

In total, there were 14.7 million attendees to West End theatres, roughly the same as in the slightly longer period counted in 2014.

In other words, their Business Rates will be nudged up to about 1% of gross ticket etc sales. The VAT they have to pay is 17% of gross sales, so the Business Rates are nigh irrelevant.

Alternatively, it works out at less than 50p per ticket sold, that's their share of the location rent. The real theatre people know full well that they are getting off lightly here; if they put on an identical play somewhere out of town, they'd struggle to fill the house for an average ticket price of £43. That 50p is what theatre goers are paying extra for the experience/convenience of going to the West End.

Government Interference

From The Independent

Theatre productions and regional touring companies are in line for at least a fifth off their tax bills under a new tax break confirmed by the Chancellor.

George Osborne first announced a consultation on “limited corporation tax relief for commercial theatre productions and a targeted relief for theatres investing in new writings or touring productions to regional theatres” last December at the time of his Autumn Statement.

From 1 September, Mr Osborne has proposed making relief available at 25 per cent on any initial investment and 20 per cent thereafter, with the full details set to be published after the Budget.

The measures will cover opera and dance as well as plays and musicals.

The Treasury said it wanted to recognise the “unique value that the theatre sector brings to the UK economy”.

What "unique value" to the UK economy. They pay taxes, they provide things that people want. How is that different to video game companies, Dyson and Ann Summers?

And what contribution does opera and dance make? We already shovel millions in lottery money at them, but now they're apparantly a net contributor? Really?