Section 1217RA — Corporation Tax Act 2009: Companies qualifying for orchestra tax relief

Companies qualifying for orchestra tax relief 1217RA 1 Subsection (2) applies in the case of an orchestral concert which is not included in a concert series in relation to which an election has been made under section 1217Q(4).

2 A company qualifies for orchestra tax relief in relation to the production of a concert if—

a the concert is a qualifying orchestral concert, b the company is the production company in relation to the concert, c the company intends that the concert should be performed live—

i before the paying public, or ii for educational purposes, and d the UK expenditure condition is met in relation to the concert (see section 1217RB).

3 In this Part “ qualifying orchestral concert ” means an orchestral concert—

a in which the instrumentalists number at least 12, and b in which none of the musical instruments to be played, or a minority of those instruments, is electronically or directly amplified.

4 A company qualifies for orchestra tax relief in relation to the production of a concert series if—

a the concert series is a qualifying orchestral concert series, b the company is the production company in relation to every concert in the series, c the company intends that all or a high proportion of the concerts in the series should be performed live—

i before the paying public, or ii for educational purposes, d the UK expenditure condition is met in relation to the series, and e the company has made an election under section 1217Q(4) in relation to the series.

5 In this section “ qualifying orchestral concert series ” means two or more orchestral concerts, all or a high proportion of which are qualifying orchestral concerts.

6 For the purposes of this section a concert is “live” if it is to an audience before whom the musicians are actually present. 6A A concert performed before the public is not regarded as being performed before the paying public unless—

a it is separately ticketed, and b it is intended that a significant proportion of the earnings from the concert should be obtained by such ticketing. 6B For the purposes of subsection (6A), the fact that a ticket covers things reasonably incidental to the concert (such as, for example, a programme or food to be consumed during the course of the performance) does not prevent the concert from being separately ticketed, provided that the price paid can reasonably be apportioned between the concert and those other things. 6C A concert is only regarded as performed for educational purposes if it is performed entirely or mainly for the purpose of educating the audience.

7 A concert is not regarded as performed for educational purposes if the production company is, or is associated with, a person who—

a has responsibility for the beneficiaries, or b is otherwise connected with the beneficiaries (for instance, by being their employer).

8 For the purposes of subsection (7), a production company is associated with a person (“P”) if—

a P controls the production company, or b P is a company which is controlled by the production company or by a person who also controls the production company.

9 In this section— “ the beneficiaries ” means persons for whose benefit the concert will or may be performed; “ control ” has the same meaning as in Part 10 of CTA 2010 (see section 450 of that Act).

10 There is further related provision in section 1217RL (tax avoidance arrangements).