Licence fee is a tax on volunteer events
Dear Editor I write to you having just read the article on the Pitlochry Christmas market.
I believe Perth and Kinross Council’s policy of taxing those who give up hours and hours of their own time to organise and run events is despicable.
It is interesting the article said: “The PA contacted Perth and Kinross Council but no one was available for comment.” Surely this is a good opportunity to explain to us all what is going on.
As someone who has been involved chairing a number of events, run by volunteers, I know how hard it is to find people who are prepared to step forward, for no remuneration, to help run these local events.
I do not recall theses taxes being in existence when we all worked so hard to retain The Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry and Highland Perthshire by organising the Pitlochry Autumn Festival. I do not recall any taxes/licences when we fought hard to make Etape Caledonia a success and run events in the villages and communities along the route. I can go on.
We locals in Killiecrankie, Blair Atholl and Pitlochry have run Soldiers of Killiecrankie for five years, giving up our time for no remuneration. It was last year, our fourth year, that we were first subjected to this local tax. It meant we could no longer ask people outwith our event to pay to come to our Saturday night ceilidh – as we would have to pay for an ‘entertainment licence’.
So our event can no longer raise income this way. We had no alternative but to pay for a market traders’ licence as we had stalls at our event.
These taxes are targeting those in our communities who are proactive and help events take place. These volunteer event taxes appear to have just appeared in the last couple of years, with no explanation given.
It would be good at the very least for Perth and Kinross Council to explain to us where these new taxes (licences) come from. The questions I would like answered are:
•How long these taxes have been targeted at local volunteer events? As I have explained, I was only aware of them for the first time last year.
•Who decided these volunteer-run events should be taxed?
•What is the benefit to these volunteer events?
•How do we, as local event organisers, go about getting this policy reversed? James Rattray The Coach