Writer has tax plan to lure artists here

Press, 21 September 1977, Page 6

Writer has tax plan to lure artists here

John Bruce is of the unshakeable conviction that New Zealand can become a South Pacific mecca for the world’s best authors, artists, inventors, and performers. In praise of New Zealand’s talent, intelligence, literacy, beauty Mr Bruce, the author of a book which, he says, is receiving top billings in the United States and Britain, can use only superlatives.

He believes he has an idea that will attract artists here in droves. The book is “Airscream.” and the author is a former London barrister and solicitor with a wealthy practice which he left two years ago for “the best place in the world” — New Zealand. In a rented house and on borrowed money, Mr Bruce, who is 39. settled in Wellington to write his first book.

He claims it is being rated alongside Alastair McLean’s "H.M.S. Ulysses,” Neville Shute’s “No Highway,” and Colleen McCullough’s “The Thorn Birds,” and described by the international managing director of William Collins Sons and Company, Ltd, as “the most exciting property I have ever read.”

"I am damned sure no publisher would say that about a first book by an unknown author unless he knew his stuff,” Mr Bruce said.

The book was going to hit the world “smack in the bloody eye,” and if his taxincentive scheme worked it would be the first of many firsts for books written in New Zealand. The United States and Britain had already advanced money for publishing rights and there were only “126 possibilities after that.” Even a Hammond Innes selling in New Zealand could not top the 12,000 hardback copies of "Airscream” released on Monday in New Zealand. The average hardback published in New Zealand reached only 1500 copies. “Airscream” was a “New Zealand book.” It took seven weeks to write and twice as many months to edit: “I scratched through it 17 times.”

It described the battle of a lone woman “the kind of person you see a lot of in New Zealand, with guts, fiercely independent and loyal,” against the overwhelming complexities of big

business and a Government determined to protect its vested interests.

According to Mr Bruce it takes a look at motivations and operations of the Judiciary, and politicians, and investigates personal morality and business ethics. The Government’s attempts to conceal its activities are led by a nameless but exceptionally devious Prime Minister.

“Some have said that the fictional Prime Minister is easily recognisable as Mr Muldoon,” Mr Bruce said, "but I am more interested in examining political types. Are politicians obsessed with a desire for prominence that gets them to the top in spite of their inability for the job. or are they in fact altruistic? “Is the court system in New Zealand the best way to get to the truth of the matter? Should a person’s professional competence be damned because he is a homosexual? “Some say the book is sexist. I don’t really know what that means — male-oriented or something. It does have a rape episode, but that’s life.”

Mr Bruce believed he had sold the Government his idea of tax exemptions on overseas earnings on books written in New Zealand.

“Mr Muldoon likes it, Mr

Templeton likes it. They have sent a guy to the Republic of Ireland to see how the scheme works there. I have talked to top men in the Trade and Industry Department, the Reserve Bank, the Treasury. They are fantastically keen in other parts of the country.” Authors, artists, sportsmen, and inventors would flock to New Zealand if they realised the Government would not tax their royalties, and budding native talent would be encouraged.

Authors of the calibre of Taylor Caldwell and Alistair McLean would come to New Zealand, and film directors such as John Huston. About 625 artists had emigrated to the Republic of Ireland from their homelands because of the country’s tax exemption on overseas earnings, and with the escalation of violence in Ireland, New Zealand was a better proposition. Young artists in New Zealand deserved a tax exemption on their internal earnings up to $5OOO to allow them to develop their potential, said Mr Bruce. At present, artistic income was taxed at top rates. Once overseas earnings accumulated the exemption would switch to overseas earnings, and internal royal- ! ties would be taxed.