The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has today announced details of the government's tax relief plan for Britain's orchestras. The new tax relief had first been announced in last year's Autumn Statement but today's announcement revealed that it will consist of a reduction in corporation tax or tax credits on rehearsal costs, player fees and venue hire. There are additional benefits for touring projects.

Osborne said: 'As part of the government’s long term economic plan, we are backing our creative industries. The UK is home to world-famous orchestras that make a great cultural contribution across all parts of our country, and are engaged by millions of people. I want to make sure our great orchestras continue to thrive. Our new tax relief will encourage orchestras to perform across the whole of the UK – helping secure the future of live performances in the UK.'

The tax relief for orchestras follows the model of similar tax reliefs already in place for the film, theatre, animation and video game industries.

The Director of the Association of British Orchestras, Mark Pemberton, said: 'Tax relief will make a big difference to our members’ resilience in these challenging times, helping them to continue to offer the very best in British music-making to audiences both here in the UK and abroad.'

The government have published a consultation document which invites responses to the proposals, which the government will then take into account before confirming the final tax relief policy.

Interestingly, as part of the consultation process, the government must seek to define what constitutes an 'orchestral performance'. The document states: 'The definition should be broad enough to capture the range and diversity of orchestral performances, including those by symphony, chamber and youth orchestras. It should also support orchestras performing modern and innovative, as well as more traditional, musical pieces.' 

Here is the current proposed definition of an 'orchestral performance': 'To qualify, the majority of performances for which relief is being claimed must be played by a musical ensemble consisting of 14 or more performers and must include players drawn from each of the following four sections: string instruments, woodwind instruments, brass instruments and percussion instruments. Proposed exclusions: 1) entertainment with a competitive element; 2) performances where the sole or main purpose is for advertising; 3) performances intended solely or mainly for recording or broadcast; 4) performances of certain genres of non-orchestral music, such as pop and rock.'