THE government should give a tax break to artistes, especially those deceased, for income from royalty, said PKR senator Yusmadi Yusoff.

Leeway should be given to the next-of-kin of artistes who are their dependents with no other source of income, he said.

He was referring to the case of the late Loloq, whose wife is facing difficulties settling an outstanding tax bill for the lyricist’s royalty payments.

“The widow is getting the royalty and she is subjected to income tax because by law, it is considered an income.

“It is a burden for a widow who has been depending on the deceased and has no other income.”

He said Pakatan Harapanshould empathise with the family of the lyricist who died in 2008.

The matter was raised in Dewan Negara last week.

The tax exemption could alleviate the burden of artistes without a fixed income, said Yusmadi.

“Artistes have seasonal income and they require a different kind of attention and we want to spur the creative economy.”

He said the move will also help families of recently deceased singer Saleem and Search drummer Yazid.

Lyricist Budhi Hikayat, who has also highlighted the tax burden issue previously, said composers and lyricists do not have regular income and depend on how much their work is used.

Budhi urged the government to instead tax record companies profiting from their work.

“Tax the record labels which have been profiting, not the artistes. These companies make bigger profits than artistes.”

He also said the income of composers had declined by 70% in the past two years.

“What are we going to eat? What about those who have died?”

Composer and director Norman Abdul Halim also agreed to the proposal for a tax exemption for artistes who have made minimum income from royalty.

“This should be particularly for the less-successful artistes or those who are just emerging. Successful ones should pay their taxes according to the current rates.

“The government should give a tax exemption according to their minimum income and the number of dependents under the artistes.” – December 25, 2019.