Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Penn on 9 March (HL Deb col 886), whether they will include 50 per cent of marketing spend in the qualifying expenditure for Theatre Tax Relief to match the level of the equivalent scheme in the United States of America.

Whilst the Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, the Government is not planning to expand the scope of Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) to include 50 per cent of marketing spend. The objective of theatre tax relief is to support and incentivise production and that is why eligible expenditure is focussed on the costs that are incurred producing and closing the theatrical production, rather than marketing.

The Government assesses that the equivalent scheme in New York is less generous overall than the UK relief: the amount of relief a production can receive is capped at $3 million and there are additional eligibility criteria and a more limited scope (for example, ballet and opera will not qualify). Whilst the UK scheme excludes marketing, it is uncapped and more generous in scope.

At Spring Budget 2023, the Government went further to support theatres by extending the 45 per cent (for non-touring productions) and 50 per cent (for touring productions) rates of TTR for a further 2 years. The rates will taper to 30 per cent /35 per cent on 1 April 2025 and return to 20 per cent /25 per cent on 1 April 2026.

The extension will continue to offset ongoing pressures and boost investment in our cultural sectors.