Actors’ Equity Association Decries Passage of House Tax Budget without Tax Fairness for Performing Artists

Last night's House budget, passed under cover of darkness in the middle of the night, failed the American people in countless ways. Among them: the exclusion of the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act (PATPA), which would correct an unintended consequence of prior tax reform efforts, which led to tax increases for many performing artists who could no longer deduct the cost of their ordinary and necessary unreimbursed business expenses. Brooke Shields, president of Actors' Equity Association, released the following statement on behalf of the union's 51,000 actors and stage managers:

“At a time when inflation is surging, the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act is a bipartisan bill that would help put money back into the pockets of thousands of arts workers, from musicians to actors and stage managers to the crew who bring live theatre and film and television shows to life,” said Shields. “This bill was a top priority for Actors’ Equity and a broad coalition of unions and employers. While we fell short this time, we will continue our work to turn PATPA into law this Congress.”

PATPA has been endorsed by a broad coalition of employers and unions, including The Broadway League, the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Americans or the Arts, Recording Academy, American Federation of Musicians, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO. Read more here.