Tax incentives will boost Australian theatre investment, says LPA

A similar UK scheme has been described as a 'lifeline' for theatre productions post-COVID.
LPA's proposed Live Theatre Tax Offset would support the presentation of works like 'Groundhog Day the Musical', which is now playing at Melbourne's Princess Theatre, Photo: Visit Victoria. Photo of the cast performing in ‘Groundhog Day’ musical. At the centre is a character with brown skin, long curly brown hair who appears to be singing.

Live Performance Australia (LPA), the peak body for the live arts and entertainment industry, has called on the Albanese Government to introduce a scheme similar to the highly successful Theatre Tax Relief initiative in the UK in order to boost the Australia theatre industry.

In the UK, the tax initiative has been described as a ‘lifeline’ for UK theatre productions and films with a budget of less than GB£15 million (AU$29 million).

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts