September Newsletter

Posted on 2018-09-13 by

September 2018 Newsletter

Attorney General Endorsement

Join us this Thursday, July 19 to hear from candidates for Attorney General. The following candidates have been notified of our meeting to endorse in this race:

Leecia Eve*
Leticia James*
Sean Patrick Maloney
Zephyr Teachout*

Club Members will cast a ballot to endorse.

Date: Thursday, July 19, 2018
Time: 6:30pm doors open; 7pm meeting begins
Location: 400 West 43rd Street, Ellington Room*Denotes the candidate or a spokesperson will attend our meeting.

Struggling actors would see skyrocketing taxes under GOP tax plan…

Posted on 2017-12-21 by

By Sally Persons – The Washington Times – Friday, December 15, 2017

Struggling actors would see skyrocketing taxes under GOP tax plan, new study finds Wealthier entertainers able to hire lawyers, accountants unlikely to be impacted….

A new study by Actors Equity shows working actors, entertainers and production crew may have to self-incorporate to avoid skyrocketing taxes under the new Republican plan, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter Thursday.

The increase comes from the elimination of the deductions for union dues, agent commissions, classes and travel for those in the middle class, but keeps some of these provisions for “top-earning talent” due to a difference in how they file.

Those in the upper-earnings often form what is called a loan-out corporation, with the actor as an employee. Loan-out corporations will not see a change under the Republican plan.

But those who cannot afford the expense of self-incorporating — requiring attorneys and expensive paperwork to meet government requirements — say they depend on deductions to keep their taxes affordable.

The study finds working actors and entertainment professionals carry high expenses and often itemize both business costs and state and local taxes, since they tend to travel frequently and work in high-tax areas like Los Angeles and New York City.

The Republican tax plan would likely eliminate state and local tax deductions, or at least limit eligible deductions, and seeks to remove other deductions in the attempt to simplify the tax code and lower the overall rate.

The study finds, however, that even with the lower rate many working entertainers would pay more in taxes under the new plan. An actor making about $97,000 for example, currently pays $12,434 in taxes, but would pay $15,579 under the new law, according to the study.

Aside from self-incorporating, entertainers are looking at becoming independent contractors, rather than employees, so they would file a different tax form that the new bill does not touch. Many in the industry say this comes with its own set of risks since it depends on employers agreeing to higher them on as their own entity.

For original article click link below:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/15/new-study-shows-working-actors-entertainers-would/

Sept. 12 voting guide NYC and District 3

Posted on 2017-09-05 by

Candidates for 2017 City Elections

Below is a running list of official and rumored candidates for many city races of 2017. Gotham Gazette will be editing this list on a running basis, as well as adding more to our 2017 election coverage, including more detail about candidates, races, issues, campaign endorsements and fundraising, debates, and more. [Note: not listed in this post are offices on the ballot including District Leader, County Committee, and other hyper-local races.]

—Candidate list last updated August 20, 2017—

Mayor
Bill de Blasio, Democrat, incumbent
Sal Albanese, Democrat
Robert Gangi, Democrat
Michael Tolkin, Democrat
Richard Bashner, Democrat

Nicole Malliotakis, Republican

Richard “Bo” Dietl, independent
Aaron Commey, Libertarian
Akeem Browder, Green

Abbey Laurel-Smith, Pilgrims Alliance
Garrett Bowser, independent
Eric W. Armstead, independent
Ahsan Syed, Theocratic
Robbie Gosine, independent
Asim Deen (party TBD)
Scott Joyner (party TBD)
Eric Roman (party TBD)
Rosemary Hameed (party TBD)
James Berry (party TBD)
Salvador Morales, (party TBD)
Louis Puliafito, (party TBD)
Eliseo Santos, (party TBD)
Karmen Smith, (party TBD)

Public Advocate
Letitia James, Democrat, incumbent
David Eisenbach, Democrat & Liberal
J.C. Polanco, Republican
James Lane, Green
Michael O’Reilly, Conservative
Devin Balkind, Libertarian
Cardon Pompey (party TBD)

Comptroller
Scott Stringer, Democrat, incumbent
Michel J. Faulkner, Republican
Alex Merced, Libertarian
Julia Willebrand, Green

Manhattan Borough President
Gale Brewer, Democrat, incumbent
Brian Waddell, Libertarian
Daniel Vila, Green
Linda Liu (party TBD)

City Council District 3
Corey Johnson, Democrat, incumbent
Marni Halasa, Green

Official Board of Elections primary listing.

Excerpt from Gotham Gazette. To read the full article click the link below:

http://www.gothamgazette.com/city/6676-candidates-for-2017-city-elections-mayor-city-council-comptroller?edchoice=side