The Latest Great Irish Storyteller?

Monday, 11th January 2010

Who can we add to the roster of Great Irish Writers? Why none other than our old chum Patrick Bartholomew Ahern. It seems that Bertie's autobiography (sadly not titled Dig Outs & Other Fuck-Ups) should be found on the fiction shelves. How so? Well...

The granting of tax-free status to former taoiseach Bertie Ahern for earnings from his autobiography under the artists’ exemption scheme has prompted calls for the scheme to be revised.

Labour Party arts spokeswoman Mary Upton said the tax break served a worthy purpose and she would not like to see it removed, but it should be reviewed. “In the current economic climate we need to have another look at who is eligible and the financial structures around their eligibility,” she said.

On the basis of reports that Mr Ahern was paid an advance of more than €100,000 to write his autobiography, he could save in the region of €41,000.

Ms Upton said the scheme was introduced “for struggling artists, to give them an opportunity to be creative. Artists who are young and not wealthy must continue to be taken account of and should not be sidelined”.

A Fine Gael spokesman said he believed people would find news that Mr Ahern could avail of the scheme particularly frustrating as it coincided with news of a steep decline in tax revenue.

My understanding of the artists' provision in the tax code is that it is a) something that is applied for on a case by case basis and b) generally restricted to creative works. In other words, Bertie ought not, I suspect, be eligible. (Whether the artists' provision is sensible or just is a different matter entirely.)

Needless to say there remains one law for the ~~cute hoors~~ politicians and the well-connected and one for everyone else. No-one, of course, should be the least surprised by this.

Filed under: Books (174 more articles) , Ireland (188 more articles) , Tax (118 more articles)

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Seanachie

January 11th, 2010 1:00pm Report this comment

He wouldn't be the first politician to make use of the provision. Conor Cruise O'Brien used to regularly claim tax-free status for his books, none of which could justifiably be claimed as 'art', even if the Cruiser was a far better writer than Bertie.

To be completely fair to Ahern, the provision is there and the loophole can be exploited. It mightn't be terribly classy availing of it given his fiscal past but class was never a valued attribute of his. I was always sceptical of the tax-free provision (even if I agree with it being available for low earners, i.e. most artists), it being a vanity project of none other than Charles J Haughey himself, the arriviste desperate for credibility among the Dublin bourgeoisie.