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Bryan Cranston & More Stand Up for Senator Schumer's Broadway Tax Bill!
Nov 9, 2022
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today joined actors Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston, other top Broadway actors and characters, as well as a number of Broadway producers, as he announced his campaign to give Broadway and live theater productions a major tax break that will encourage investment and spur job creation on the Great White Way. Schumer today called for passage of his key amendment that would change the federal tax code and create equal tax treatment for live theater by extending its investors the same benefits afforded already to film and television producers. Schumer today noted that individual investors are the backbone of this industry, but it is often a prohibitively risky enterprise to invest and finance commercial stage production. Schumer is rallying for his plan to help alter that reality; last week, he successfully fought for his amendment to be included in a Senate tax bill in that will be considered for a full vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. BroadwayWorld takes you inside the special event below!
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Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World
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We're at Sardi's, where some of Broadway's best came out to support Senator Charles Schumer's historic bill
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allowing Broadway and live theater the same tax breaks that are already given to film and television
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Here's what he had to say. From an actor's standpoint, it's healthy for all of my friends to be able to go to work
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and all the crew that live here in New York. But, you know, full houses is what we're looking for
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adventurous new storytelling to make sure that every theater in New York has a play
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Currently, it's good for commerce. It's good for actors. It's good for taxi drivers and hotel workers and the like, restaurant workers
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So it's good all around. But that's also, it also enables the producers to take those chances on storytelling that may be on the fringe, but just may be incredibly important
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So thank you all very much for getting the word out, and we hope we can count on your support
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Thanks, Brian. Now, we're here, as Mr. Cranston just noted, to fight on behalf of a common cause
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and that is to make sure that Broadway and live theater gets the same tax benefits as film does
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You all know, what is the fiber of New York City? It's Broadway, the great white way
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People from New York love going to the theater, and over 7 million tourists from out of town came to the theater
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They not only came here to the theater, which supports thousands and thousands of people in good-paying jobs
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but they ate at the restaurants, stayed at the hotels, visited the museums
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But when you ask somebody from Denver or from Tokyo or from Johannesburg
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why they want to come to New York, they'll say, I want to go to Broadway
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And so the better Broadway does, the better New York does, the better it is for jobs, for gainful employment, etc
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But we don't just care about, this is not just a New York issue. More than half the people who attend Broadway productions attend them on the road
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So this proposal that we're making will benefit not just New York, but many other cities and states in the country
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and cities and states that have live production. Harry Reid, he's very eager to pass this bill because of Las Vegas
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Different type of show, but nonetheless available for the credit in our proposal
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So we know that Broadway is part of our lives. It's part of the culture of New York
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It's part of our identity. It's part of our economy. And to put it simply, Broadway and live theater must continue to thrive in New York
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But at the same time, Broadway and other live theater productions face an uphill battle
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when it comes to getting investors to commit money to commercial stage production
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Investing in Broadway and live theater is often a big risk. It difficult to get banks and financial institutions to back up these productions But luckily we have devoted individuals who are willing to invest But there are others who decide it too much of an upfront risk to invest here
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And they're taking their money elsewhere to places like Great Britain, which have more generous tax benefits than we do here for live theater
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And that's a danger. I'm always on the lookout to keep New York number one
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We are clearly the number one in live theater, but we always have to be vigilant
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And this tax benefit that exists in other countries and doesn't exist here is a danger to us
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And that's why we have to stop it. So, I'm here to launch a final push to stop other countries from gaining a financial advantage
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and to give Broadway another big shot in the arm because it's so important to New York
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to our economy, and just to the fiber of our lives. So let me explain very briefly
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If you are a film or a TV production, you get to deduct 100% of your expenses the first year
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You invest, you can deduct 100%, even if the production doesn't make a profit
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up to 15 million dollars. You don't get that if you invest in a live production. And so what we're doing is simply making it equal
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Somebody who makes an investment can take the full deduction, somebody who makes an investment on Broadway or in live theater
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can take the deduction in the first year for up to 15 million dollars total
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for each production. That is a huge shot in the arm. because then investors will at least know they're going to get a deduction
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whether the show succeeds, which we hope they all do, or fails
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It will put Broadway and live theater on the same footing as TV and film
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I'm all for the TV and film deductions. I think it's great that New York State has a very generous one
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I'm so proud in my neighborhood in Brooklyn when we can't park. I am. I like seeing that
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And so does the whole neighborhood. Guess who's here? Guess who's there
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So it's great. We're not against that. We just want to bring the same thing to Broadway
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which has its own special, special way about us. And so that's what we're proposing to do
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Now, I was able to get this in what's called the Tax Extenders Bill
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And it passed the Senate Finance Committee unanimously. And now we have to bring it to the floor of the Senate and get passed in the House
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But we've overcome our major hurdle, which is getting it in the tax bill
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because these so-called tax extenders almost always pass. So we're here to make our final push
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Not just me, but Cinderella, Newsies, Phantoms, as well as some of the great actors and producers here on Broadway
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And we believe that once this gets done, we're going to see more jobs
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more theater, and the life of New York will be further enriched
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So here we are. So Nick, talk about the importance of this bill and what today means
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Today's an incredible day because our senior senator from the great state of New York
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has been able to get this tax amendment added to a tax extender bill which is going to provide relief and support to the theater industry
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the same as provided to the film and television industry, and actually the same kind of support that's provided to investors in theater outside the United States
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So what this is going to do, hopefully, is encourage a broader base of investors
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by giving them the same fair tax treatment that are given to film and television
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I mean, this is a no-brainer. Yeah, it feels like a no-brainer, and you have to wonder why it wasn't done earlier
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But without the leadership of somebody like Senator Chuck Schumer, it's very hard, as everybody knows, in Washington to get things moving
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The beauty of this no-brainer is that every single member of Congress should be able to support this
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because by supporting this bill, you actually support the local performing arts centers
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that you support in your home state or your home cities. So it's actually really easy to say yes
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How excited are you to be here today? It's so exciting because it's a nice tax incentive for investments
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which is generally a problem in brand-new shows, and people are afraid to take risks on Broadway
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and afraid to do new shows that might not be successful, and they're very skeptical to put in a new show
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and with tax incentives, I think that people will take more risks and there'll be more jobs and there'll be neater things to see, new works
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It's very exciting, and plus I got to meet Bryan Cranston. It doesn't get any better than that, does it
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That's amazing, yeah. Thank you for doing what you do. This is a historic day, especially for Broadway and live theater
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Tell me what today means to you, Senator. Well, what it means is Broadway is the heart and soul of New York
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It's a huge job creator, 86,000 jobs. And if people are given the same tax advantage when they invest in live theater on Broadway or in smaller live theater productions as they do now when they invest in film or TV production, it'll be a real shot in the arm
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So Broadway will get even bigger and better, employ more people. It'll put us on equality with London, which has this tax advantage already on a tax reason
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We're more than in equality with them on other things. And so it's a great thing
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I love New York. and if you love New York, you love Broadway. And the importance of this across the country
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The Cleveland story is a big one. I mean, the theaters in Cleveland with live theater saved all these cities
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Downtown Cleveland has come back because of live theater and this will help Cleveland
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This will help the whole country because there are so many places where there are live theater organizations
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that struggle because they can't get financing. This is going to make investors far more willing to invest
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Thank you for doing what you do. I think it will pass by the summer, right? Right, yeah, let's hope. That's what we're shooting for
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So here we are. Tell me what today means to you, Tom. Well, it's the culmination of several years of working on tax reform for Broadway theater
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Broadway theater is a huge economic driver in New York City and all around the country
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And it needed the kind of tax support that film and television get
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And this was Senator Schumer's tremendous support that brought this to us
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and what this means to Broadway and across the country with touring productions from Broadway
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Well, I think it opens up the investor pool. This is a very risky business
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and we need to keep investors, and we need to keep them happy. And this, I think, allows them to invest
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on an even playing field, not only with the film and television business in our country but with the theater business in England particularly but in other countries as well where this type of tax advantage already exists
10:59
I mean, this is a no-brainer, right? I've always thought so, but there is no such thing as a no-brainer when it comes to legislation
11:06
All of this took enormous leadership, and particularly on the part of Senator Schumer
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who when we walked into his office for the very first time, listened to us for about a minute and a half and said, I get it. I'm going to do it
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That kind of unequivocal support from a man of his rank was the most heartening thing I've heard
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in theater in years and years and years. It was very exciting. And now today is the culmination
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of that support. Charlotte, tell me what today means to you. This is one of the most important things that the Broadway League has done in our history
11:45
When we can make it easier for producers to bring risky shows to Broadway, we are ensuring the future of Broadway
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So this one goes down as like number one big memory. You know, I was talking to Nick. This is really a no-brainer
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I mean, film and television have gotten this. Why shouldn't Broadway? Exactly. When we went to meet with Senator Schumer two and a half years ago, in three minutes he looked at it
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He said, I get it. It's not fair. I'll do it. And he lived up to that
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You know, this is also an incentive for across the country because so many Broadway productions travel across the country
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for people who can't get here, which is great for their arts institutions also, and how theater cleans up cities
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Absolutely. I mean, there was an article last week about the Cleveland Playhouse
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and how it's revitalized downtown Cleveland. Broadway creates activity and great jobs and prosperity for wherever it goes
12:39
What is it like for you when you walk through the theater district when shows are getting out
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and you look at all the people that it entertains and the look on their faces? What do you feel
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You know, my heart swells to about the size of my whole body when I realize what we're doing is we're creating magic and escape for everyone
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They walk in that theater, they sit down, and no matter what's on their plate that day
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They're going to have a couple of hours of magic. Talk about what today meant to you
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Well, it's thrilling. As a commercial producer who's getting more and more involved
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I'm learning about the hurdles that we face in terms of bringing commercial theater to Broadway and across the country
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This simply gives us a level playing field with film and television
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And as I speak with investors, people want to, they love the familiar
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So if I speak to someone who's invested in an independent film but has never invested in theater and she or he learns that they're treated differently, that somehow the tax consequences are not the same, it's a disincentive
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They're less interested right off the top because they can't write that off immediately
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And suddenly, Broadway is an unusual business in that we define a hit as something that recoups
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that simply pays back an investment before anyone makes a profit. Every time we pitch and we try to raise money, we need everything in our arsenal to attract people to this incredible art form
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that has a great many commercial challenges. And so I was thrilled today
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I've always been a fan of Senator Schumer, and I think he's doing the right thing for New York, for the country, for the art form
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and simply helping us to get on a level playing field with film and television
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