Exterior view of the Berghain in Berlin.
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ECKELT / CARO FOTOS / SIPA
A breakthrough for German clubs, closed for months due to the pandemic: techno is indeed music and thus gives the right to reduced VAT rates, ruled the German Federal Court of Finance.
The high financial court, which sits in Munich, had been seized by several plaintiffs, including the legendary Berlin club Berghain, who contested having to pay a full VAT of 19%, instead of a reduced VAT to 7% applied to theaters the concert.
"DJs don't just play sound media"
In a decision rendered on October 29, the Federal Court ruled in their favor.
It considered that the reduced VAT was not necessarily linked to the presence of instrumentalists or singers but to the primary reason for the arrival of the “average visitor”.
And for the Court, even if the drinks receipts are higher than the entry ticket, the “clubbers” come above all for the music.
"DJs do not just play sound carriers (composed by others), but they interpret their own pieces of music using instruments in the broad sense, to create sound sequences with their own character", detailed the Sages of the Federal Court.
Tourists
This decision is the first good news in months for a sector affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The closure for more than six months of clubs in Germany, especially in Berlin, is a disaster for the sector.
Financial aid from the city, easier recourse to short-time work or “crowdfunding” operations may not be enough to ensure the survival of many places.
Berlin's reputation as the capital of nightlife and techno music serves as a magnet every year for tens of thousands of young tourists from all over the world to flock until the first light of the morning in the basements of clubs like the Tresor, Berghain, KitKat or Sage.
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Germany
Techno
Electronic music
Culture