Coalition Of Entertainment Workers, Unions, And Employers Urges Congress To Restore Tax Fairness By Passing PATPA

This week marks the start of another tax season with a tax code that punishes entertainment professionals for seeking employment. Entertainment workers, their unions, and their employers are continuing to stand together to demand Congress pass the bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act (PATPA) to restore tax fairness for those working in the arts and entertainment industries.

“For too long, hard-working, middle-class entertainment professionals have been penalized with an unfair tax code. Their taxes increased with the last tax reform bill while CEOs and billionaires got a tax cut,” said Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning. 

When the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) passed, it eliminated the ability of entertainment workers to deduct necessary work expenses that most spend 20 to 30 percent of their gross income on. Without the ability to deduct expenses like travel to auditions, talent agents, and equipment, entertainment workers now owe burdensome amounts in taxes, which causes many to struggle to make ends meet. 

PATPA would fix this issue by updating the Qualified Performing Artist (QPA) deduction. The QPA deduction allows eligible entertainment workers the option to take above-the-line deductions for certain unreimbursed expenses, but it is currently limited to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $16,000. PATPA would raise the thresholds of the QPA deduction to $100,000 for single tax filers and $200,000 for joint tax filers to help ensure middle-class entertainment workers qualify for the deduction.

PATPA was introduced for this Congress in the House of Representatives by Representatives Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Judy Chu (D-CA) in April 2023, and currently has support with 83 cosponsors. It also has the support of many employers and arts organizations, including Americans for the Arts, the Motion Picture Association, the Broadway League, National Independent Venue Association, and many state and regional arts organizations. 

“We are grateful for the leadership of Representatives Buchanan and Chu in fighting for a tax code that treats entertainment workers fairly by co-sponsoring PATPA. We urge both the House and Senate to pass PATPA and send it to President Biden's desk to sign into law,” said Dorning.