FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Katie Barrows
Communications Director
P: 202-549-5991
kbarrows@dpeaflcio.org

WASHINGTON, July 28, 2021 - Today, the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act (PATPA) was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation would update the Qualified Performing Artist (QPA) deduction to correct an unintended consequence of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which caused middle class creative professionals' taxes to drastically increase by preventing the deduction of their business expenses.

Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) President Jennifer Dorning released the following statement on the reintroduction of PATPA:

“We applaud the re-introduction of PATPA and urge the Senate and House to pass this critical bipartisan legislation so the President can sign it into law. 

Middle class creative professionals have suffered greatly from the significant tax increases that resulted after they lost the ability to deduct their business expenses. Actors, stage managers, dancers, musicians, cinematographers, and many other creative professionals spend 20 to 30 percent of their income on necessary expenses to secure and maintain employment, including travel to auditions, talent agents, and camera equipment. Without the ability to deduct these expenses many middle class professionals struggled to make ends meet even before the pandemic started when many creators still had income coming in. The PATPA will restore tax fairness and put more money in the hands of hard-working, creative professionals.

Righting this unintentional wrong created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been a top priority for DPE and our affiliate unions due to the devastating impact the change to the QPA deduction has had on union members. We thank Rep. Chu and Rep. Buchanan for re-introducing this important piece of bipartisan legislation and we look forward to PATPA becoming law.”

About DPE

The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) is a coalition of 24 unions representing over four million professional and technical union members. DPE affiliate unions represent professionals in over 300 occupations in education and healthcare; science, engineering, and technology; legal, business, and management; media, entertainment, and the arts; and public administration.