Techno music has long been linked to Germany in the minds of many, so when the city of Berlin wanted to move the famous Berghain club into a much higher tax bracket, the owners fought to have the club join the ranks of classical music, which has been classified as high culture.
The legal battle centered around the drastic tax difference between the two forms of music. Classical has long been seen as high culture in the eyes of tax authorities, resulting in a tax of only 7%, but when it comes to techno, authorities wanted to subject venues to a rate of 19%.
Sure, there are some pretty big difference between the two musical genres, but when it came time for the Berlin-Brandenburg fiscal court to make a ruling, the argument made by tax officials, that a place where people can dance, have fun and take drugs is not culture, wasn’t enough. The court ruled that Berghain’s weekend long techno parties are just as high culture as classical concerts, earning the club the status of high culture.
So turn up that techno and start soaking in some high culture everyone. And don’t forget… pinkies up.
