Actors’ Equity Association Applauds Reintroduction of the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act

Actors’ Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in live theatre, applauded the reintroduction of the bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act (PATPA). This bill would correct an unintended consequence of the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act which led to tax increases for many performing artists who could no longer deduct the cost of their ordinary and necessary unreimbursed business expenses.

Professional actors, stage managers and musicians, for example, typically spend 20 to 30 percent of their income on necessary expenses -- such as to pay for travel to auditions or a talent agent -- to stay in the business and to procure employment.

“Thousands of Equity members just filed their taxes, and again owed hundreds - sometimes thousands - of dollars more than they did before the 2017 passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” said Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity Association. “The overwhelming majority of arts professionals are middle-class workers who just can't afford that. Fortunately, the tax code already recognizes the up-front business expenses of working in our industry; the problem is simply that the relevant income thresholds haven't been revised since the Reagan Administration." Read more here.