A pair of House lawmakers want tax breaks for struggling actors and others in showbiz, saying it will help performers who have lost everything in the fires around Los Angeles.

Reps. Judy Chu, California Democrat, and Vern Buchanan, Florida Republican, teamed up to re-introduce the Performing Arts Tax Parity Act to claim more work-related expenses on federal income taxes.

“This will be especially impactful for performing artists who have lost everything in the Eaton and Palisades Fires and will need to rebuild studios and replace destroyed equipment in places like Altadena, which has long been a hub for working-class performing artists,” Ms. Chu said. “Creative professionals are found in every state and congressional district in the country and most are middle and working class, not A-list stars.”

Mr. Buchanan said, “Performing artists are an asset to our community, and they should not have to choose between paying for work-related expenses and their basic needs.”

Sens. Mark Warner, Virginia Democrat, and Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, introduced companion legislation in the last Congress, but the bills didn’t go anywhere.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated the ability to claim miscellaneous itemized deductions, which previously allowed artists to deduct their work expenses. As a result, performing artists, who often spend up to one-third of their gross income on work-related expenses, have paid thousands more in taxes each year.

Since 1986, the tax code has allowed working artists the ability to take an above-the-line tax deduction for work-related expenses. The tax break, which enjoys broad bipartisan support, has not been updated since its inception. Today, it is only available to those making less than $16,000 a year.

To better reflect today’s cost of living, the bill would increase the income ceiling to $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for married joint filers. Supporters said the higher income level more appropriately reflects the current cost of living.

The bill would also automatically adjust the income level for inflation.

The legislation is supported by the Actors’ Equity Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the Motion Picture Association, Americans for the Arts, the League of American Orchestras, the Theatre Communications Group, the National Independent Venue Association, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the America Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE) and SAG-AFTRA.

“We have entered yet another tax season with a policy that unfairly penalizes arts professionals. We thank Representatives Chu and Buchanan for once again introducing a bipartisan bill that will mean that actors, stage managers and their colleagues no longer have to pay hundreds, and sometimes thousands of dollars more in taxes simply due to baseline costs of working in this industry,” said Brooke Shields, President, Actors’ Equity Association.

“This was an oversight in tax reform that can be remedied with a simple fix. That needs to happen this year,” she said.

• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.