SAG-AFTRA Applauds Reintroduction of the Bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act

LOS ANGELES - SAG-AFTRA applauds the introduction of the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act (PATPA). The Act finally updates the Qualified Performing Artist (QPA) deductions in the tax code to ensure that qualified performing artists can deduct expenses incurred over the course of their employment with multiple employers.  The legislation was introduced with bipartisan leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla.

"I want to thank Reps. Chu and Buchanan for drafting and introducing this important legislation. They are great champions of the creative professionals that keep our industry successful,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris. "We have been fighting for 35 years for this legislation because it will finally treat artists and media professionals more fairly with respect to the kind of expenses and deductions that businesses have long enjoyed, especially now when relief is needed most.”

The QPA was signed into law as part of tax reform in1986.  It has remained unchanged in the tax code ever since. The bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act updates the adjusted gross income cap under which performers can take advantage of QPA deductions. The current adjusted gross income cap of $16,000 is outdated and irrelevant. The new bill would update this cap to $100,000 for single filers and $200,000 for married artists filing jointly.  

“Despite their disproportionate influence and contributions to local communities and economies, the struggle of Americans in the arts has been recognized for years,” wrote Buchanan and Chu in an opinion piece published in The Hill when the bill was first introduced. “Most of the stage actors and stage managers who belong to Actors’ Equity Association and members of SAG-AFTRA who work in TV and film are hardworking – often struggling to get by – middle-class taxpayers. They have fallen through the cracks of an imperfect system.”

The bill has been supported by 19 organizations representing creative professionals from across the industry, including live theater, trade shows and exhibitions, and concerts, as well as the equipment and construction shops that support them. Since the legislation was first introduced in June 2019, SAG-AFTRA has held dozens of meetings with congressional staff and also submitted testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee regarding the need for tax fairness for these workers. Coming on the heels of the pandemic that halted all production and devastated so many lives, the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act will provide well-earned relief to those professionals who need it most.

About SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA represents approximately 160,000 actors, announcers, broadcast journalists, dancers, DJs, news writers, news editors, program hosts, puppeteers, recording artists, singers, stunt performers, voiceover artists and other entertainment and media professionals. SAG-AFTRA members are the faces and voices that entertain and inform America and the world. A proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO, SAG-AFTRA has national offices in Los Angeles and New York and local offices nationwide representing members working together to secure the strongest protections for entertainment and media artists into the 21st century and beyond. Visit SAG-AFTRA online at SAGAFTRA.org.