By the time the January edition of RH10 Uncovered goes to print, I will have already taken my children to the pantomime at the Ifield Barn Theatre in Crawley!
We’re looking forward to watching Beauty and the Beast at this historic venue!
And I am delighted to see that a new Theatre Tax Relief has recently come into effect, with community groups such as Ifield Barn in mind.
Local theatres are important to every community, and it is right that the Government have brought in this tax relief, which started in September. I have contacted both Ifield Barn and The Hawth, and I hope that they will be able to benefit from the initiative.
The scheme can apply to a range of live performances including plays, musicals, opera, ballet and circus productions, and will provide an additional corporation tax deduction, or a payable tax credit, worth up to 25 per cent of qualifying expenditure for touring productions, and 20 per cent for all other productions. It builds on tax reliefs which already exist for film, high-end television, animation and video games.
I am sure that Crawley’s theatres will benefit from this tax relief for many years to come and so will we as local residents.