Since 1969, being a writer, musician, or visual artist in Ireland has carried a distinct advantage: exemption from paying income tax on earnings. But if the country’s Commission on Taxation has its way, that special treatment will end.

The economic recession has prompted the country to overhaul its tax code, and a new report from the commission calls the artists’ exemption unfair and recommends that it be scrapped. The report aims to make the Irish taxation system fairer by spreading the tax burden more evenly and recommends introducing a tax rate for artists based on average earnings over a number of years.

The tax exemption was passed to help struggling artists, but it has been criticized because high-earning performers such as U2 were paying no tax on millions of euros’ worth of royalties. In 2006, the level of earnings before tax was capped at €250,000 ($364,000). However, Visual Artists Ireland, a body representing professional artists, says 67 percent of artists in the country earn less than €10,000 from their creative works, and 24 percent earn between €10,000 and €25,000. 

Read more at BBC News.