Council keeps pressing for VAT exemption on dance education

The Dance Council Malta is continuing its long battle for VAT exemption on dance education and intends to stage a peaceful protest outside Castille in the near future.

The VAT issue has been a "sore point" for dance schools since its introduction, the Dance Council said. Following years of correspondence and meetings with the authorities, the situation has not changed.

The protest would consist of a march from the education to the finance ministries - both of which are "playing a game of ping pong with the council" - and would culminate in a professional dance class for students outside the prime minister's office, where a petition is to be presented.

Around 1,000 signatures have so far been collected, showing that children and their parents do not want to be taxed on education, the Dance Council said.

The idea of the ballet class in the streets, "using the barriers as bars", was inspired by the action taken by other dance communities in Ireland and Quebec to raise political and public awareness on areas of concern in the dance sector.

Speaking at the Dance Council's fourth annual general assembly at the Westin Dragonara Resort yesterday, its president Tanya Bayona said the crux of the matter revolved around the definition of dance and whether it was an education/culture, or finance issue.

The departments in question were still debating the matter and there seemed to be conflict between the ministries on the subject.

In a letter in 2000, the Education Division had said the council's request for tax exemption for dance schools could not be acceded to since it was a matter for the VAT office to decide in terms of VAT legislation and was "completely out of the terms of the division".

Ms Bayona should be meeting with Finance Minister John Dalli and Education Minister Louis Galea again later on in the month. But, she said, "I feel that we have reached a point where other measures should be adopted" and urged solidarity and good planning.

The "alarming" point was that Malta was charging the highest tax on education, while other EU countries charged a minimum, or none, Ms Bayona said.

According to the Malta-EU Information Centre, the EU directive on VAT exempts education, culture and sports.

Quoting information from the EU Commission, Ms Bayona said that while the EU is unable to impose on member states what VAT rates are charged for goods and services, France, Italy and the UK offered tax exemption for educational activities.

The UK offered VAT exemption for cultural activities, while most other countries offered minimum rates such as 5.5 per cent in France.

The Dance Council Malta is working towards reducing the tax from 15 to five per cent and, eventually, down to three per cent and on to exemption.

The Dance Council would be looking for the support of other political parties and not just the government, she said.

Other issues that were discussed at the general assembly included the fact that dance schools were mushrooming around Malta and quality was deteriorating.

It was questioned how many of the schools had qualified and trained teachers.

Speaking about the importance of quality, Ms Bayona pointed out that there were 24 dance schools in Malta - a relatively high figure in relation to its size and population - but no such thing as a teacher's warrant.

The council suggested that the Education Ministry issue dance teachers' warrants and not just licences for adequate teaching premises.

Criteria needed to be established with regard to the recognition of a professional dance teacher.

Unfortunately, the commercial aspect of dance was overcoming quality, she said. Schools were being set up in garages and parents did not know what to look for when choosing tuition.

Members of the council also felt that theatres should distinguish between performances by foreign and local companies and schools and charge different rates accordingly.

The fact that Malta still lacked a national dance company was also pointed out.

Ms Bayona also said that the problem of lack of commitment and dedication to dance was a result of the fact that there was no future in dance in Malta.