New budget proposal places sales tax on nonprofit arts orgs, but not sports or movies

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New budget proposal places sales tax on nonprofit arts orgs, but not sports or movies

POSTED: Monday, September 21, 2009, 9:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts | Movies | Music | Arts News Theater

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Last Friday, Gov. Ed Rendell and the General Assembly proposed a budget deal that will apply a 6 percent sales tax to all arts and cultural organizations in the state. The tax will increase ticket prices for shows, and admission prices for museums and parks, among other things. Considering the budget cuts that were being tossed around before this deal, this doesn't sound too bad. But the price increases may dissuade people from spending the extra buck here and there. It could also seriously hurt the state's arts organizations themselves, 40 percent of which say they're working with a deficit. And it's worth noting that tickets to movies and sporting events (read: companies with more lobbyists than your average theater company) will remain tax-free. (Cigs, cigars and gas-drilling leases, however, are also being taxed additionally.)

If you think Sorority Row should be taxed as much as or more than the Philadelphia Museum of Art, you've got a friend in the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, which is encouraging people to get involved and speak out against the cuts.

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