{"id":316,"date":"2026-06-16T15:38:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=316"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:38:44","slug":"tax-code-shouldnt-punish-working-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=316","title":{"rendered":"Tax code shouldn’t punish working artists"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

If you\u2019ve ever watched a great film or sat in a theater and been completely transported, you\u2019ve seen what this industry can do at its best. <\/p>\n

Read more At the Races: Will Trump run off with it?<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s something we\u2019re proud of. But behind that experience isn\u2019t just glamour, it\u2019s a workforce made up largely of middle-class Americans doing practical, often unpredictable work.<\/p>\n

Most people in entertainment aren\u2019t celebrities. They\u2019re skilled, working professionals \u2014 actors, stage managers, dancers and technicians \u2014 who piece together a living one job at a time. They take pride in that. Nobody\u2019s asking for sympathy for choosing a competitive field. But there\u2019s a difference between accepting the nature of the work and being unfairly penalized for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the reality: Before many of these professionals earn a single paycheck, they\u2019ve already spent money just to be in the game. Headshots, classes, self-tape equipment, travel to auditions \u2013 these aren\u2019t luxuries; they\u2019re the basic cost of doing the job. And agents and managers commissions can gobble up to 30 percent of each paycheck. Unlike many traditional professions, those costs aren\u2019t reliably covered or reimbursed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And it adds up. Work-related expenses can easily reach 20 percent to 30 percent of an artist\u2019s annual income.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, nobody in this business is asking to be exempt from taxes. That\u2019s not the point. The point is simpler: You shouldn\u2019t have to subsidize the cost of working in your own profession. Those who work in the entertainment industry should be on a level playing field with other American workers.<\/p>\n

That used to be the case.<\/p>\n

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan, himself a former president of SAG, signed into law a provision that recognized this exact issue. The Qualified Performing Artist Deduction allowed middle-income artists to deduct the necessary expenses of their trade. It was a practical, bipartisan acknowledgment that this line of work comes with unique, unavoidable costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Blanche makes Senate visit ahead of confirmation push<\/a><\/p>\n

But there was one problem: The income cap was never adjusted for inflation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today, that cap is still set at $16,000 a year \u2014 just $40 above the poverty line. As a result, the overwhelming majority of working performers no longer qualify. What was once a sensible policy has quietly become obsolete.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a failure of principle; it\u2019s a failure to update the math.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The solution is straightforward. The Performing Artists Tax Parity Act (PATPA) would raise the income threshold to $100,000 and index it to inflation going forward. It restores the original intent of the law: targeted relief for middle-income workers in the entertainment industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t about special treatment. It\u2019s about equal treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The entertainment industry is a major part of the American economy, generating hundreds of billions of dollars each year and supporting jobs across every state. But, more importantly, the people who make it run are the same people you find in any community \u2013 all of them working, budgeting and trying to build a stable life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They accept the uncertainty that comes with the job. What they shouldn\u2019t have to accept is a tax code that treats necessary work expenses as if they don\u2019t exist. Updating this policy won\u2019t solve every challenge facing working artists. But it will fix something that\u2019s clearly out of date and do it in a way that\u2019s fair, practical and long overdue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s something everyone, regardless of industry, should be able to agree on.<\/p>\n

Brooke Shields<\/strong>\u00a0is president of Actors\u2019 Equity Association, the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in the theatre and other performing arts. Shields comes to union leadership with a long career that has ranged from acting and modeling to writing and entrepreneurship.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sean Astin<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0was elected SAG-AFTRA president on Sept. 12, 2025. In an acting career that\u2019s spanned four decades, Astin has portrayed audience-beloved characters ranging from Mikey Walsh in The Goonies to Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Astin holds a B.A. in history and English from UCLA and a master\u2019s in public administration and policy from American University.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Trump soft pitches take-home pay message<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’ve ever watched a great film or sat in a theater and been completely transported, you’ve seen what this industry can do at its best. It’s something we’re proud of. But behind that experience isn’t just glamour, it’s a workforce made up largely of middle-class Americans doing practical, often unpredictable work. Most people in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nTax code shouldn’t punish working artists - American Industry Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=316\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tax code shouldn’t punish working artists - American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you’ve ever watched a great film or sat in a theater and been completely transported, you’ve seen what this industry can do at its best. 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