A delegation from the Arts Council of Ireland has urged the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, to keep the artists’ tax exemption. The 36-year old scheme may be scrapped, which would lead to possible flight of local artists and emerging artists would feel the pinch the most. The delegation included the Arts Council Chair, the Arts Council director, author John McGahern, and playwright Eugene O’Brien. Olive Braiden, the Chair, told the Minister that Ireland is “swimming against the tide to retain its creative artists because there is a small market here for many art forms”. John McGahern said: “The vast majority of artists who benefit under this scheme earn very little from their work. Ireland has a reputation abroad which is out of all proportion to its size. For good reasons or bad, whenever I travel abroad, whenever work of mine is translated or whenever I represent the country, the tax scheme is seen as enlightened. If the scheme is changed in any way, this sense of enlightenment will disappear immediately. The Arts Council presented the Minister with a published book of artist biographies, which tells about the benefits of their tax exemptions. On the 13th October 2005, the Arts Council also launched an email postcard campaign to the Minister; over 1600 postcards supporting the tax exemption have been sent to date. For more information CLICK HERE.