18 February 2024
‘Dear mr. Plasterk…’
After the general elections in November 2023, negotiations on forming a new cabinet are being held. Kunsten '92 and de Creatieve Coalitie have written to the coordinator (mr. Plasterk) to remind them of the importance of the cultural part of the budgetting.
Kunsten ’92
On January 17, Kunsten ’92, with input from Nieuw Geneco, sent a letter to informateur Plasterk, drawing attention to the importance of inclusive cultural policy for everyone.
As composers and creative thinkers in the cultural sector, it is essential that our voice be heard in this crucial phase of cabinet formation. Kunsten ’92 has emphasized several key points they would like to see in the new cabinet period:
- Increasing existential security.
- Maintaining the low VAT rate.
- Annual indexation of government investments in culture.
- Legal anchoring of culture and sufficient funds in the municipal and provincial funds.
- Independent media and journalism with public broadcasting as the cornerstone of our democracy.
The Creative Coalition
The Creative Coalition‘s recommendation letter to the currently forming parties highlights the untapped potential of the role of art and culture in addressing various societal challenges.
A selection of the recommendations includes:
- Ensure fair payment and contracts for workers, both freelancers and employees.
- Invest €149 million structurally for the indexation of gross wages and rates.
- Require (major) online operators to engage in collective management for authors’ and neighboring rights.
- Equalize the VAT rate for cultural education with that for sports education (9%).
- Introduce a €95 million stimulus scheme to enable culture to make an additional contribution to societal challenges.
- Explore a possible AI levy system and collective rights management.
- Transfer copyright and neighboring rights to the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science (OCW)