Well, looks-a-daisy what we have here.

Gordon Cox at Variety, who thankfully still gets to write about theater even though his publishers have slashed legit coverage like it was a rain forest, wrote this article last week about NY Senator Charles E. Schumer’s announcement of his intention to introduce The Stage Act of 2013, in the hopes that it will eventually become a law.

What’s in this so-called Stage Act?

Well, ask any film producer, because it’s basically the same benefits they’ve been getting for years, including the deferment of a project’s income taxes until recoupment.

If you’ve ever raised money for a show, you know that this is a subject that comes up often for investors.  And boy if it doesn’t come up when you’re raising money, it often comes up when the investor is hit with a tax bill . . . before he has profit on the show!  I’ve had to walk my folks through this a few times, and no matter how well I explain it, it’s a difficult one to swallow (which makes it difficult for me to explain!).

So big kudos to Senator Schumer, and the Broadway League’s recently-formed government relations board for their continued efforts for parity between the TV & Film world and our world.

But don’t start counting your tax benefits just yet . . . Schumer announced his intention to support the bill, but it’s a heck of a long time before it will have a chance to become a law.

It is progress, however, and we will take what we can get.

And you can help speed things up.  Contact Chuck here.  Send him a note saying the Stage Act is important to you, and that you hope he’ll make it a high priority in the coming year.

And then tell him you read it here.  Maybe we can get him to write a guest blog when the bill passes.

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