Performers’ Tax

* While the City Council is considering establishing a film fund to retain film production and jobs for thousands of employees of the entertainment industry who have been hurt by runaway production (Oct. 30), the council should also reverse its 1996 decision to tax these employees.

The city’s extension of its business tax to over 100,000 actors, dancers, stunt performers, screenwriters, directors, musicians, composers, lyricists, screen cartoonists and other creative artists placed a real burden on these individuals. As it now stands, if they can find work, it is often temporary. Payment for temporary work is often reported on an IRS Form 1099, which the city considers prima facie evidence of a business, triggering requirements for a business license, three years of back taxes, interest and penalties.

While doing what it can to retain film-related employment, the city also should go back to its pre-1996 treatment of these employees, leaving it up to them to decide if they feel they are running a business at or from their homes. It can accomplish this by amending them out of the home occupation and business tax ordinances and abandoning efforts to pass state legislation to gain access to the income tax records of these artists.

MARK RYAVEC

Venice