Tax Appeals Commission determination 105TACD2021 regarding Artists' Exemption, 2021

• Administrative Decision Number: 105TACD2021
• Year: 2021
• Date: 08 June 2021
• Subject Matter: Artists' Exemption
• Respondent: THE OFFICE OF THE REVENUE COMMISSIONERS

105TACD2021

Between:

THE APPELLANT

Appellant

and

THE OFFICE OF THE REVENUE COMMISSIONERS

Respondent

Determination

Introduction

1. This appeal involves a claim for exemption pursuant to section195 of the Taxes Consolidation

Act as amended (‘TCA 1997’) in accordance with the guidelines drawn up under that section

by the Arts Council and the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (hereafter referred

to as the guidelines), commonly known as ‘Artists’ Exemption’. Under section 195(6) an

individual may appeal to the Appeal Commissioners. The appeal is on the grounds that the

work or works is or are generally recognised as having cultural or artistic merit or the particular

work has cultural or artistic merit. From the documentation supplied by the Appellant, he had

successfully been granted Artists’ Exemption for a previous book called , which

is described as “ ”.

2. The Appellant’s authored work in this appeal is a non-fiction book titled

(hereinafter referred to as “the Work”). The Appellant submitted a claim for Artists’ Exemption

for a determination by the Revenue Commissioners under section 195 TCA 1997 in 2020.

The Appellant considered that the Work was a book and non-fiction. The Appellant’s claim for

exemption was refused by the Respondent on 28th July 2020 stating that the Work did not

meet the required criteria set out in the legislation and the guidelines. In particular it was noted

in the decision dated 28th July 2020 that the Work was a work of non-fiction but it “does not

come with the criteria for non-fiction work set out in paragraph 7 of the guidelines”. In the

Revenue Commissioner’s letter dated 28th July 2020, they gave the Appellant a further

opportunity to supply information to assist his application for Artists’ Exemption. On 28th

December 2020, the Appellant wrote to the Revenue Commissioners with further details

stating that the Work came within paragraph 7(a) and that it was his personal diaries shared