Experts warn against plans to slash €350 million from cultural sector budget

A consortium of municipalities, private investors, and cultural sector organizations has warned that if the Cabinet implements all the planned measures related to art and culture, the sector will lose 350 million euros every year.

The consortium, which includes the Cultuurfonds, which is the Culture Fund, the interest group Kunsten '92, and the municipalities of Amsterdam and Tilburg, called it a "deforestation" because of the domino effect of measures that would affect the sector.

This mainly concerns the VAT increase from 9 to 21 percent for cultural goods and services, cuts on subsidies and the municipality fund, increase in gambling tax, and adjustment of the tax deduction for donations.

"The uncoordinated heap of cuts and measures has a huge impact on the whole art and culture sector in the short and long term," Cathelijne Broers, director of the Cultuurfonds.

For income, the cultural sector is 50 percent dependent on subsidies. The rest of the money comes from income from the public (40 percent) and private financing (10 percent), said the organizations.

"This Cabinet policy is disastrous and will cause a domino effect because financiers cannot fill each other's gaps and will mainly support risk-averse projects," says Broers. "This will mainly be at the expense of small and medium-sized institutions and makers."