Schumer Bill To Make Tax Season Easier for Actors

According to Senator Schumer, struggling performing artists should only worry about breaking a leg, not the bank.

Mr. Schumer, along with Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, yesterday announced plans to introduce legislation in Congress that would make it easier for more actors and performing artists to deduct business expenses from their taxes.

Under the new legislation, artists earning less than $30,000 a year would be able to write off performance-related expenses such as head shots, audition tapes, and transportation to and from auditions.

The legislation would update the current tax law concerning actors, which was passed in 1986, and allows those making less than $16,000 annually to deduct business expenses.

The updated legislation would also allow performing artists to claim business expenses as adjustments to income, rather than having to write these expenses off as itemized deductions.

Mr. Schumer said more than 36,000 New York actors would now qualify for the tax break.