I was startled and disheartened by the notion that Winnipeg City Council is considering an Amusement tax for the Fringe Festival.
This is not an opportunity for the city to make more tax dollars - traditional cultural institutions require to be supported, not hampered, by government. Mass culture institutions - those that set out to make money - are different. Though it is not conducive to our local economy either, you may feel free to tax them to kingdom come.
This issue is different. It points to a very threatening paradigm of thinking in our society, and one that does not belong in government: mass culture and culture are two different things. The Fringe Festival is not a commercial event like the coming to town of the Junos. We do not reach broad, mass audiences capable of generating huge amounts of money. Most of us put our own, not corporate, money into production costs. An army of volunteers support us throughout the event. We rely upon small, intimate audiences for money - audiences who will be discouraged by a new tax.
Indeed, the irreparable damage (to artists and to the city) that enforcing this tax would cause far outweighs any slim dollars it might raise. It is a testament to the cultural potential of our city and our country that, through its artists, an event such as the fringe has become so successful. In fact, the Winnipeg Fringe Festival is widely recognized as the best fringe festival in North America, and the second best in the world. Why make a move to kill it?
Many artists who come here during the summer months to make a living depend upon the money they make to survive. With the institution of this tax, you will be depriving these people of their means of survival. It isn't the goal of an artist to make money. An artist sets out to contribute to the building and maintenance of a culture.
This potential action points to the reason why Canada and culture often seem to exist outside of each other. This is your opportunity to correct that.
What belongs to commercial culture? Entertainers who make money by appealing to a broad, mass audience through radio and television. This is not Candaian Idol, this is not the Junos, this is not your day-time or prime-time television extravaganza.
Theatre artists, put simply, do not qualify for your tax.
This is not an opportunity for the city to make more tax dollars - traditional cultural institutions require to be supported, not hampered, by government. Mass culture institutions - those that set out to make money - are different. Though it is not conducive to our local economy either, you may feel free to tax them to kingdom come.
This issue is different. It points to a very threatening paradigm of thinking in our society, and one that does not belong in government: mass culture and culture are two different things. The Fringe Festival is not a commercial event like the coming to town of the Junos. We do not reach broad, mass audiences capable of generating huge amounts of money. Most of us put our own, not corporate, money into production costs. An army of volunteers support us throughout the event. We rely upon small, intimate audiences for money - audiences who will be discouraged by a new tax.
Indeed, the irreparable damage (to artists and to the city) that enforcing this tax would cause far outweighs any slim dollars it might raise. It is a testament to the cultural potential of our city and our country that, through its artists, an event such as the fringe has become so successful. In fact, the Winnipeg Fringe Festival is widely recognized as the best fringe festival in North America, and the second best in the world. Why make a move to kill it?
Many artists who come here during the summer months to make a living depend upon the money they make to survive. With the institution of this tax, you will be depriving these people of their means of survival. It isn't the goal of an artist to make money. An artist sets out to contribute to the building and maintenance of a culture.
This potential action points to the reason why Canada and culture often seem to exist outside of each other. This is your opportunity to correct that.
What belongs to commercial culture? Entertainers who make money by appealing to a broad, mass audience through radio and television. This is not Candaian Idol, this is not the Junos, this is not your day-time or prime-time television extravaganza.
Theatre artists, put simply, do not qualify for your tax.
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