Order, Order.

We turn now to a vote on the Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) (Repeal) Bill.

Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) (Repeal) Bill

An Act of the Senedd Cymru to repeal the Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) Act 2020.

Having been passed by the Senedd Cymru and having received the assent of His Majesty, it is enacted as follows:

Section 1: Repeal

(1) The Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) Act 2020 is hereby repealed.

Section 2: Commencement

(1) This act shall come into force immediately upon Royal Assent.

Section 3: Short Title

(1) This act may be cited as the Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) (Repeal) Act.

***This bill was written by The Most Honourable u/model-willem KD KP OM KCT KCB CMG CBE PC MS MSP MLA, MS for Swansea East, on behalf of the Welsh Libertarians. Co-sponsored by the Independent, u/PoliticoBailey MS*

Opening Speech

Llywydd,

When the bill was first proposed people from the Libertarian Party Cymru already explained that the Protection of Modern Theatre (Wales) Act 2020 was going to be a tight jacket for local councils as they are having to put funding aside specifically for the funding of modern theatre programs. I believe that this is one of the bureaucratic proposals that we need to stop. If councils want to fund theatre programs then they should be able to decide so themselves, just like they can with other different issues and programs.

The other thing that worries me about the initial bill is section 1(2) and section 1(3). The first of the two is, “All Welsh Theatres are to be exempt from paying any devolved taxes on any earnings which they receive from productions, catering, hiring their venues and any other sources of income.” This is something that we as Welsh Libertarians disagree with, because we believe that taxes should not be evaded just because they are theatres. If a catering service provides food for people at a play they should not be treated differently from a catering service providing food for another establishment next door that might just not be a theatre. This also counts for the venues and other productions.

Section 1(3) says that “All Theatre Companies based in Wales are to be exempt from paying any devolved taxes on any earnings through performances at educational facilities or for any public service workers.” This is the same as my argument for the first section, because we believe that theatre companies should not be exempt from paying taxes just because they are a theatre company.

It is time that we stopped viewing theatres and theatre companies as so special that they are exempt from paying taxes in Wales.

Voting on this bill will end on Sunday 2nd July at 10pm BST.