Porn buyers get Spanish Shakespeare as theater protests tax rate

A group of Spanish actresses has found a novel way to protest the government's taxation of the performing arts: They're selling pornography.

Theater company Primas de Riesgo is registering as a porn distributor after getting hold of 300 back issues of magazine "Free People." The twist is that each copy includes a free ticket to "The Prodigious Magician" at Madrid's New Alcala Theater this month because tax on magazines is less than a fifth of that on admission to a play.

The producers of the Calderon de la Barca 17th century drama join Oscar winners Pedro Almodovar and Javier Bardem and other members of the Spanish arts world in attacking the government for raising taxes and cutting their funding. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy more than doubled the sales tax on theater admission to 21 percent since taking office in 2011. It compares with 4 percent for magazines, including top-shelf ones.

"Independent companies like ours feel like they're in a straightjacket, suffocated," said Karina Garantiva, 33, director of Primas de Riesgo. "If we allow a super-reduced rate for porn and punitively tax works by Calderon, who is part of our national heritage like Shakespeare for the British, then as a society we're lost."

The theater company has teamed up with a kiosk in Madrid to sell the magazines and distribute tickets to their show, whose run starts on Nov. 25.

Artists v. State

The clash has echoes of previous demonstrations by the Spanish arts world stretching back to the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, who died in 1975, said Alejandro Quiroga, a lecturer in Spanish history at Newcastle University in northeast England who comes from Madrid.

"Spain has a strong tradition of artists demonstrating against right-wing governments," said Quiroga. "Rajoy's government and the artistic community are miles apart."

Theater attendances have slumped 33 percent since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008, leading to concern among actors and directors that Spain's drama heritage is being eroded. The levy on tickets was 8 percent until Rajoy cut spending and raised taxes to win financial support from the European Union for the banking industry.

The tax increase on theater was needed to balance public accounts, while the reduced rate on magazines is permitted by the European Union, the Budget Ministry said by e-mail. Theater is doing its bit to pull the country out of its crisis and many cultural institutions like museums and libraries benefit from reduced tax rates, the ministry said on Nov. 5.

Budget Cutting

Rajoy forecasts that Spain will narrow its budget deficit to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 10.3 percent in 2012. His government is cutting taxes next year to boost support with a general election due and his party languishing in third place in opinion polls.

"The theater sector doesn't have a massive impact on the deficit," said Jose Carlos Diez, an economics professor at the University of Alcala. "They could reverse the rate whenever they want, but they made a mistake increasing it and they don't want to admit the error."

Takings at Spanish theaters fell about 14 percent since 2008 and the number of performances is down 26 percent, according to the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Spain has the second-highest rate of sales tax on cultural services in western Europe, behind Denmark at 25 percent, according to the European Commission. Portugal levies 13 percent while Italy charges 10 percent.

Madrid Kiosk

Jose Asensio, who sells the pornographic magazines on behalf of Primas de Riesgo from his street-side kiosk in central Madrid, said the government should do more to protect the arts.

"I'm in favor of the state reducing taxes on culture," said the 52-year-old, who sells everything from metro tickets to chewing gum from the stall, which has been in his family since the 1950s. A row of naked women in various poses looks out from the magazine covers behind him. "Theater or cinema isn't a physical need, but it is a spiritual one."

Primas de Riesgo, which means both "Risk Premiums" and "Cousins of Risk" in Spanish, was born out of the country's economic malaise two years ago. Bond prices were suddenly dominating the Spanish media as the yield on 10-year securities spiraled to 7.75 percent and the nation came close to losing access to financial markets.

"All anyone could talk about was the risk premium," said Garantiva, the company's director. "We were tired in the bar after a rehearsal and then we came up with the name. We were starting out at that time. It was probably the worst moment to put together a project like this."

The company has financed itself through crowd funding or donations rather than government grants, according to Garantiva. The actresses are hoping other independent production teams will follow their lead to further highlight the tax gap.

The first 300 people who want to see the Calderon play will be charged 16 euros ($20) for a 20-year-old porn magazine. After that, they will reassess. They may even produce their own pornography, though the goal is to force Rajoy to recant.

"We don't want to become pornographers," Garantiva said. "This is a stand against the government."