Chancellor’s Autumn Statement 2014 – Support for the creative sector

In today’s Autumn Statement, the Chancellor set out further proposals to support the creative sector:

• The introduction of a new tax relief for children’s television programmes from April 2015.
• A formal consultation, beginning in early 2015, about the introduction of a new tax relief for orchestras from April 2016.
• A promise to work with the television industry (a) to reduce from 25% to 10% the minimum UK expenditure required to qualify for high-end television tax relief and (b) to modernise the cultural test for high-end television, bringing it more in line with film tax relief.

The Chancellor once again stated his commitment to supporting the creative industries “so that they continue to thrive in the UK.” Whether this amounts to more than electioneering, is a matter of some debate.

For more information, please contact Euan Lawson or Jessie Woodhead.