Republicans’ tax attack on actors
You can call me a multitasker; I’m a working actress, an accountant and also a tax attorney. My resume may sound a little unusual, but when April 15 hits, I will fit in with tens of millions of working Americans who have been hurt by sweeping changes in the tax code.
The Trump-Republican tax plan, passed without one vote across the aisle, is the most unpopular tax bill in history, and for good reason. It gives small, temporary tax relief to middle-class workers, then raises our taxes to deliver large, permanent tax cuts to the super-rich and the corporations they own and control.
According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the wildly misnamed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will deliver 83% of tax cuts to the richest 1% of Americans by 2027. In the same year, 92 million middleclass families will be hit with a tax increase.
Meanwhile, although Donald Trump is the first President in years to make his home in New York City, he is not giving any regards to Broadway. Working actors, stage managers, stagehands and others who earn a living in the performing arts in New York and elsewhere won’t wait until 2027 to start paying more taxes. Thanks to Trump, we’re paying more right now.
In their quest to take money from the middle class so they can deliver big bucks to their wealthy donors, GOP tax writers slashed an important tax deduction for actors and other workers in creative fields. It’s called “ordinary and necessary unreimbursed employee business expenses.” In plain English, that means if you spend money to do your job, but your employer doesn’t pay you back, you can deduct those expenses from your income.
Not anymore. Actors and other performing artists have a slew of expenses we pay out of our pockets. An agent, for example, typically gets 10% of every check. A talent manager gets another 10% or 15%.
Those headshots we use to impress producers and directors? The people who look at them don’t pay for the pictures; we do. Ditto for the cost of travel to outof-town auditions, promotional websites, business cards, union dues, voice coaches and other costs we shoulder so we can keep working in a highly competitive industry.
It’s a thrill to work in a creative profession, but thrills don’t pay the bills, and most of us aren’t millionaire movie stars. In a good year, stage actors, dancers, singers and stage managers can earn a decent middle-class living. Thanks to the new tax bill, it’s going to get a lot harder to have a good year.
In my law and tax practice, and as a volunteer for my union assisting members with their taxes, I’ve seen thousands of tax returns filed by working actors. After analyzing the new tax law, here are a few examples of what will happen to my fellow performers in 2018: l An actor who earns $97,000 will pay $3,145 more in taxes under the new law — a 25% tax hike. l An actor who earns $87,000 will pay $3,629 more — a 37% tax increase. l A married couple, both performers, who earned $65,000 will pay $3,307 more in taxes. That’s a 269% tax increase!
It’s infuriating to know that our higher taxes won’t be used to improve health care, fix our crumbling infrastructure or protect our environment. Instead, the middle class — including actors and other performing artists — will get poorer so the rich can get richer.
Trickle-down economics has already been tried, and it’s failed, every time. This latest version also will fail, because when the middle class pays higher taxes, we spend less money, creating a downward spiral that will drag down our entire economy.
It’s time for a rewrite. We need true tax reform that ensures that all of us, including the wealthy, pay a fair share for essential government services. That’s not what we got in 2017. If early reviews are any indication, 2018 will not be a good year for the politicians who authored this unnecessary tragedy.
Karas is treasurer of the Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing more than 51,000 U.S. stage actors and stage managers.