Plus Tate – a network of 47 visual arts organisations across the UK – has welcomed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s announcement in the Spring Budget Statement that the Museums and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief (MGETR) is to be made permanent.
Since its inception in 2017, MGETR has supported hundreds of museums and galleries across the UK with £59 million invested, a lifeline for museums and the visual arts. The tax relief has supported 6,430 exhibitions of all sizes – from blockbuster exhibitions that draw huge national and international audiences, to the creation of ambitious new displays at smaller sites that engage local communities around the country – encouraging innovation, creating jobs, and enabling national and international touring. The relief was previously due to expire in April 2026.
Maria Balshaw, Director of Tate and Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Council said: “I want to thank the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt and Culture Secretary, Lucy Frazer for responding to the concerns of museums and the visual arts sector by extending this vital tax relief. It supports the making of exhibitions that directly benefit the public across the whole of the UK. At Tate it helps us create exhibitions that serve our local communities as well as attract visitors from all over the world. It underpins the economic and social benefit museums and galleries make to the UK economy and helps protect our world leading creative sector.”