Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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72. To ask the Minister for Finance the criteria for the award of tax exemption to artists; the changes made in this regard in the recent budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40137/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The artists' exemption provides for an exemption from Income Tax on the first €40,000 of earnings in relation to certain categories of works, namely: a book or other writing; a play; a musical composition; a painting or other picture; or a sculpture.

The exemption does not extend to income arising from: royalties paid or associated with the performance of music whether by the composer or another artist; performance royalties paid or associated from the sale of CDs etc. (song writing royalties are exempt); receipts from live performances; arrangements, adaptations or versions of musical compositions which is not of such significance as to amount to an original composition; any writing visual or musical work created for advertising or publicity purposes; a book which is primarily used either by students in a course of study or by a person in a trade, business, profession, vocation or branch of learning as an aide to that trade, business, profession vocation or branch of learning; Any work of journalism published in a newspaper, journal, magazine or on the internet.

It is worth noting that a new set of guidelines for the operation of the artists' exemption were agreed between the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, the Arts Council and the Revenue Commissioners. I approved these new guidelines on November 22 2013 and they can be viewed on the Revenue website at

In the Budget I announced that the artists' exemption is being extended to artists who are resident or ordinarily resident and domiciled in one or more EU Member States, or in another EEA state, and not resident elsewhere.  Such artists who have produced works within one of the categories mentioned above will be able to apply to the Revenue Commissioners for the exemption and, providing their work meets the criteria for the scheme, will be eligible for the exemption. However, the exemption will only be of benefit to those artists who are liable to income tax in Ireland. The exemption will not apply in their home country. The reason behind this change is to ensure that the scheme is compatible with EU law. I have also increased the maximum amount of the exemption to €50,000 for the year of assessment 2015 and subsequent years.