For nonprofit arts organizations, the recession has been a hurricane that pummels them first from one direction and then from the other.
The storm is raging across the country, across the region and in Pierce County. Private donors, feeling the pinch to their own pocketbooks and hits to their investments, have less money to give to the arts. Attendance at full-price events is down as many patrons prioritize their spending and opt for low-cost matinees, free days or staying home. Finally, local and state governments have reduced or even eliminated what little funding they give to the arts.
But to make this storm a perfect one, add something like the proposal the Tacoma City Council is considering to raise revenue: a 5 percent tax on tickets sold by nonprofit museums, theaters and performing arts groups. The only good thing about it is that it would not affect smaller arts groups; the tax would only kick in on sales over $250,000.
One that would be affected is the nonprofit art theater, the Grand Cinema. Its executive director figures he’d have to charge an additional 50 cents on the $7 matinee and $9 evening tickets. He’s afraid that will cut attendance.
To avoid raising ticket prices for patrons if the tax is enacted, arts groups would have to cut costs elsewhere – and many of them are already operating on the edge. The alternative – raising ticket prices, could cut even deeper into attendance – and threaten the organizations’ survival.
In a sector this fragile, there may well be unintended consequences. What happens to city revenue if arts organizations go under? What about other businesses – such as nearby restaurants and parking garages – that rely for some of their income on arts patrons?
Tacoma touts its nonprofit arts organizations as among its most valuable assets. Indeed, many credit its cluster of museums and Broadway Center theaters for the city’s revival in recent years. But those institutions – as well as other nonprofit arts groups – would be at a competitive disadvantage if the 5 percent tax is enacted; neighbors such as Seattle, Federal Way and Olympia do not tax nonprofits’ ticket sales.
The City of Tacoma is in deep fiscal trouble – there’s no denying that. But in its quest for revenue, the City Council should do its utmost to avoid hurting arts groups that are struggling to weather the economic storm.
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