Fran Drescher, head of actors' union, seeking tax breaks for group's 'middle class members'

Sitcom star wants to see Congress pass the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act.


By Nicholas Ballasy
Updated: May 1, 2022 

Actress Fran Drescher, president of the Hollywood labor union SAG-AFTRA, is seeking tax breaks for "middle class members" of the union.

Drescher wants to see Congress pass the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act, which would amend the 2017 tax reform bill signed by former President Trump to "increase the adjusted gross income limitation for above-the-line deduction of expenses of performing artist employees, and for other purposes." The bill has bipartisan cosponsors.

Drescher described the legislation pending in Congress as a "big deal" that would help actors and actresses.

"We're looking for tax breaks for our middle class members, it's called PATRA, the Performing Artists Tax Parity Act, and that's a big deal because actors spend a lot of money before they even get a job just in trying to secure a job," she said.

Drescher noted that the tax benefit is on the books but "we just want to expand it a little bit."

Her organization also wants to see passage of the American Music Fairness Act, which is to "close up the loophole on AM/FM radio; it's the only last area where a performer gets played and a singer or a musician doesn't get paid."

Drescher said that the broadcaster currently makes money off of the performers.

"So we want them to pay like Pandora does, and Spotify and iTunes, and it's time for that to happen," she said.