Liveurope joins EMMA’s call for fairer withholding tax rules for European artists

Liveurope co-signed the open letter led by the European Music Managers Alliance (EMMA) calling on the European Parliament to alleviate the financial burdens faced by touring musicians by overhauling and standardising the way in which “withholding tax” is applied by member states. 

Withholding taxes are typically deducted as a percentage of an artist’s gross payment when they perform in a foreign territory. Theoretically, they provide a bond towards any taxes owed in the country of earning. However, in their application, no consideration is made of the actual costs and profitability of touring.

As a result, many artists – who are already facing dramatically rising costs of performances, transportation, accommodation and insurance – will overpay the tax they actually owe, resulting in further deficits or vastly reduced profits. 

Compounding this situation, the lack of uniformity in reclaiming these overpayments is frequently an arduous and sometimes impossible task. As a result, small and mid-sized artists who lack the resources to chase what they are owed are disproportionately impacted. 

By comparison, US artists playing in Europe benefit from international treaties that means no withholding tax is charged until they earn over a certain threshold – typically €20,000. 

EMMA is recommending that European artists receive equal parity – either from a similar universally-applied threshold on earnings; or by standardising systems that are already operational in Denmark, Hungary, Ireland and the Netherlands, where no withholding taxes are imposed on foreign artists on short-term visits. 

Their letter to the European Parliament, which is counter-signed by IAO, IMPALA, FIM, EMEE, Live DMA, and Liveurope can be read here.