Backstage: New Legislation Proposed to Save Actors Money While Filing Taxes

Earlier this tax season, the secretary and treasurer of Actors’ Equity, Sandra Karas submitted testimony on the bill’s impacts to the House Ways and Means Committee (which, since the 2018 midterms, is now chaired by a Democrat). She also serves on the New York board of SAG-AFTRA, which has 160,000 members nationwide. Karas represented both unions in her testimony.

“Unlike many other employee-classified workers, performing artists incur numerous regular expenses while they seek work,” stated Karas in her testimony. “Over the course of the year, these costs range from 20 to 30 percent of an actor’s gross income—sometimes even more.” READ MORE