We usually see artists at the Sydney Opera House performing on stage – not talking about tax in the company of administrators, academics, tax and property professionals.
But with almost 60% of the creative sector telling us they’re thinking about leaving Sydney in the next 12 months because they can’t afford to live and work in this city, it’s clear today’s Art of Tax Summit is crucial.
Soaring housing costs are pushing creative professionals, and many others, out of Sydney. And affordable workspaces are now almost impossible find. What artists consider affordable is a third of the rent they are currently paying.
Creative space is so much more than the theatres, music venues and galleries that are the backbone of cultural life. It’s the infrastructure and the warehouses, rehearsal rooms, studios and other spaces where artists can make mess and make noise – and many of these places have been rezoned and redeveloped for housing or commercial use.
No one is arguing against the need for housing. But we also need to provide for our artists and creative workers, and protect creative spaces. And it’s urgent.
Culture is something you can’t put a price on. But it does come at a cost.
Across Australia, arts and cultural policy has historically focused on direct public subsidies. But solely relying on such funding does not support a large and diverse cultural sector and sustainable careers for artists.
This is a big problem that needs a big systemic solution. We need a new approach to financing culture beyond our current funding models.
Tax reform is a great start. Reform must encourage philanthropy, incentivise private investment, and unlock new approaches for stimulating the creative economy.
We need changes to the tax system that improve artist incomes and increase affordable creative workspaces.
Some reforms may initially decrease the tax take, but increasing cultural activity brings with it economic and social benefits – and may generate new tax revenues.
We can look to affordable housing models and build-to-rent schemes for inspiration, where property and land tax concessions make for feasible private investment in public good and ensure the provision of permanent, ongoing and affordable spaces.
There is also a place for encouraging meanwhile use. We should be looking to incentivise the temporary leasing of empty properties to artists by letting landlords claim the reduced rent as a business expense. Culture and art must be embedded into urban planning and major developments so that as our city evolves and grows, our creative and cultural infrastructure grows with it.
Among a range of policy and project levers we take for embedding culture into the city, we negotiate Voluntary Planning Agreements with developers. This can involve us offering incentives like extra height or parking in return for permanent artworks, public spaces or the construction of creative spaces for public use.
For example, we negotiated with the developer of a high-rise residential complex in Bathurst Street, in the middle of the CBD, to construct a 5-storey, 2,000-square-metre affordable studio complex, and to lease it to us for $1 a year for 99 years.
In the 3 years the City of Sydney Creative Studios have operated, there have been over 13,500 bookings by artists and arts organisations, the offices and studios have been occupied 100% of the time, and many local and national productions have been created.
Along with the NSW Government, the City of Sydney is also working on a Creative Land Trust to take land and properties out of the private market and place them permanently in the hands of the cultural sector for studios, rehearsal rooms, theatres and housing for artists. However these measures will not be enough. That’s why we must look to other measures, including tax reform.
Culture gives Sydney its character and a voice to our ideas and stories. We want our creatives to earn a good living and for our stories to be told both here and overseas.
A thriving creative and cultural scene builds social cohesion and gives people a sense of belonging and connection. More than ever we need that now.Our creative industries have demonstrated extraordinary resilience in the face of unprecedented pressures – but the industry is teetering.
There’s a real risk we’ll lose generations of creatives – a loss that will have significant economic, social and cultural consequences for our cities and our society.
Let’s stop the exodus and start thinking creatively about our taxes.
