Money From Busking: Legal and Tax Aspects of the Activity of Street Performers in Selected EU Countries

Abstract This paper shows the activities of street performers in selected European countries from the perspective of current challenges in tax law. The research problem concerns the regulation of donations received by street performers by legal and tax legislation. The paper is the result of qualitative ethnographic fieldwork and an analysis of legal acts regulating the rights and obligations of street performers in the legal tax area. The results help to raise public awareness of both the legality of street performances and the lawful treatment of donations received from spectators. Moreover, the article promotes knowledge concerning the social benefits of donations to street performers. Furthermore, the authors highlighted contemporary trends and challenges related to street performers’ receipt of donations and how donations received in different currencies or cashless forms are taxed.