To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a Smart Fund tax on technological devices to support the creative arts sector.
Answered on
21 July 2021
There are no plans to introduce a Smart Fund tax on technological devices but the Government continues to monitor the way that creative sector tax reliefs are working to ensure they are effective.
The Government recognises the significant disruption the necessary actions to combat Covid-19 are having on sectors such as the creative arts.
During this difficult time the Treasury has worked intensively with employers, delivery partners, industry groups, and other government departments to understand the long-term impact of Covid-19 on all key areas of the economy and continues to do so.
The sector continues to benefit from the significant cross-economy support made available throughout this pandemic, including the generous employment schemes, grants, loans, a reduction in VAT to 5%, business rates relief, and the extension of the moratorium on commercial evictions for business tenants.
In March 2021, the Chancellor announced a further £300m to build on the existing £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to protect the cultural sectors. To date, more than £1.2 billion in grants, repayable finance and capital has been awarded to over 5000 organisations and sites in England.
Additionally, in March 2021, the Chancellor extended the £500 million Film & TV Production Restart Scheme to enable the screen sector to operate throughout the year. The registration deadline for this scheme is 31 October 2021, and claims will be able to be submitted up to 31 March 2022 for losses incurred up until 31 December 2021. The scheme has directly supported more than 45,000 jobs.
The £7 million UK Global Screen Fund pilot has also been established to support the export of UK independent screen content, in particular UK independent film.