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Cabinet approves draft of amendment to 'Culture and Arts Reward Act'

  • Date:2020-12-04
Cabinet approves draft of amendment to 'Culture and Arts Reward Act'

On November 26th, the Executive Yuan approved the draft of amendment to the "Culture and Arts Reward Act" crafted by the Ministry of Culture, and will submit it to the Legislative Yuan for review.

In response to social transition, revolvement of cultural governance ideals and diversification of culture, the Ministry of Culture has been pushing forward the "Culture and Arts Reward Act" draft amendment since June 2019, in compliance with the "Culture Basic Law" that came into effect in June 2019. It relates to the fundamental approach to cultural governance and the turning of major policies into legislation. In comparison with the current provisions, the amendment, aside from conforming to the procedural guidelines of administrative disposition, also considers the legislative aim of expanding beyond simply reward and subsidies. To advance the goal of proactively supporting artists and their crafts and fostering sustainable development of the arts, the amended act with a total of 34 articles is renamed "Culture and Arts Reward and Promotion Act." 

The Ministry of Culture pointed out that the amendment has added a chapter dedicated to "rights protection," in compliance with article twenty of the "Culture Basic Law" to expand advisory measures for artists in relation to employment insurance. Companies as suppliers of culture and arts related government procurement will have to cover the business insurance costs of labor providers who are not able to enroll in occupational accident insurance. The amendment also provides guidelines regarding contracts and emergency and disaster relief support in order to guarantee the rights of artists.

To invigorate Taiwan's arts industry, the amendment includes improvement of taxation on artwork transactions. First, income from relics or artwork transactions in exhibitions or auctions will be taxed separately. The income to be taxed is set at 6% of the transaction price, and the levy will be 20% of the income. Secondly, individuals that bring in relics or artworks from abroad to be exhibited or for auction in Taiwan are exempt from paying security deposits. The government aspires to forge a friendly environment for art trade and anticipates that the taxation improvement measures may invigorate Taiwan's art market, further transforming Taiwan into an important center for international art trade.