Hasan Bakhshi, Director of Creative and Digital Economy at Nesta, comments on the new museums and galleries tax relief announced in the Budget:

"We welcome the Chancellor's introduction of a new tax relief for museums and galleries, which support more than 100,000 jobs in the UK and are a key driver of innovation through their research and conservation activities. The Treasury should ensure that all public-facing collections are within the potential scope of the new relief even if they are not housed within museums and galleries, such as those within archives.

"In designing the tax relief, thought must also be given as to how it can be targeted to incentivise the riskiest collection-related expenditures which support innovation and therefore the long term growth of the sector. One such area is when museums, galleries and archives use digital technologies in innovative ways to maximise the public's access to their collections - something that Nesta has helped to facilitate through the Digital R&D Fund for the Arts. Expenditures such as these, alongside more traditional exhibition activity, should qualify."

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About Nesta: Nesta is the UK's innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery. Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales 1144091 and Scotland SC042833

www.nesta.org.uk / @nesta_uk

For more information contact Laura Scarrott in Nesta’s press office on 0207 438 2697/ [email protected]