Pre-budget proposals to outlaw the application of Gift Aid to museum admission charges (ArtsProfessional issue 68, February 23) have been put on hold pending a period of consultation which will run until June. Museums are currently offering submissions to the Inland Revenue and the results of the consultation are not expected until the late summer. The delay means that museums will be able to continue to apply Gift Aid to entrance charges until at least April 2006.
Mark Taylor, Director of the Museums Association, said, ?Originally the scrapping of Gift Aid tax came as a bolt from the blue, and we were told that it was non-negotiable and would happen very soon. It now seems that the Treasury has listened and is at least prepared to discuss implementation and, more encouragingly, the possibility of exemptions.?
The film industry reacted with similar relief to the introduction in the budget of a new tax credit to replace the Section 48 tax loophole which enabled partnership investors in British films to offset losses against tax until it was abruptly withdrawn in February. The new tax credit will provide direct revenue to film-makers set at 20% of the production budget, where previously it had been set at 15%. More information will not be published until the summer, raising fears of a lull in production. Sir Alan Parker, Chair of the UK Film Council, described the announcement as a ?significant step forward? that ?provided much needed certainty? for the industry; yet he urged the Government to extend the tax credit to cover film distribution as well as production.