ICONIC venues that have hosted top acts such as Lady Gaga and The Rolling Stones are at risk of closing causing huge job losses from a tax shake-up.
Bosses of London’s O2 and Manchester Co-op Live arenas have written to the Treasury saying they don’t have the ability to absorb extra business rate costs.
From next year, the government will bring in higher levies for retail, hospitality and leisure properties with rateable values of £500,000 and above.
Angry venue bosses say the policy fails to distinguish between “Amazon-style warehouses” it is intended for and live music venues.
Affected smaller venues will also have a knock-on impact on the High Street as people stay in hotels and enjoy pubs and restaurants nearby.
Lady Gaga has just completed a UK tour playing dates at both the 02 in London and the Manchester Co-op Live.
The Rolling Stones played a string of dates at the venue in the capital in 2007 and 2012.
It comes as Rachel Reeves has admitted facing hard choices at the Budget where she could have to find £30 billion to fill the financial black hole.
But Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson has been urged to make an exemption on the rules from next April which could also see the closure of grassroots venues.
In the letter, venue chiefs tell him: “Arenas are already operating on very tight margins and many simply do not have the ability to absorb additional tax pressures.
“This tax rise could lead to arenas closing, resulting in significant job losses and lost economic activity in towns and cities across the UK.”
Figures show 27 million people attended arena shows last year with an average of 10,000 people attending each event.
Each event brings in between £1 million to £2.3 million which would be an insufferable blow to jobs.
Twenty-three arenas say they are at risk and venues such as Camden Underworld in Sir Keir Starmer’s constituency could be financially damaged.
The venue bosses add: “Without an exemption for arenas and live music venues, this tax rise will unfairly penalise the 23 arenas all over the UK, force closures of grassroots venues already on the edge – iconic spaces like Camden’s Underworld.
They added that the move “will deter further investment in arenas at a time when government wants to be encouraging new infrastructure development to drive growth, not hold it back”.
A string of business bosses have called on the Chancellor not to punish them with more taxes following last year’s £25 billion national insurance tax raid.
A Treasury spokesperson insisted the new system would “level the playing field” to protect the High Street and help investment.
They said: “We are creating a fairer business rates system to protect the high street, support investment, and level the playing field by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties from April that will be sustainably funded by a new, higher rate on less than 1% of the most valuable business properties.
“Unlike the current relief for these properties, there will be no cash cap on the new lower tax rates, and we have set out our long-term plans to address ‘cliff edges’ in the system to support small businesses to expand.”
