Today is Tax Day — your last chance to send your return to the IRS.
We thought this a good day to take a look at what our elected representatives are doing to lighten your tax burden. In the process, we came across the latest effort by our senior senator, Chuck Schumer.
The headline over his press release says it all: “Schumer — Standing with Neil Patrick Harris, Bryan Cranston & Other Leading Broadway Actors.”
Sen. Schumer is pushing an amendment that will give a “major tax break” to “Broadway productions and live theater.” He makes his case in the name of fairness: His amendment, he says, would extend to live theater “the same benefits already afforded to film and television producers.”
Translation: Instead of ridding the tax code of special favors, New York’s senior senator wants to extend the favor to others in the entertainment industry.
We don’t doubt the tax code makes life difficult for Broadway investors. But why is it that politicians who are so quick to line up tax favors for Jimmy Fallon, or the owner of a professional sports stadium, or (in this case) live theater, never seem to extend that same concern to less glamorous but hard-working enterprises whose businesses also suffer from an overly high-rate, complicated and often contradictory tax code?
We’re talking about dry cleaners, bodega owners and others who invest in their own businesses.
So while it’s nice that Sen. Schumer is willing to fight for Harvey Weinstein and the cast of “Cinderella,” if he really wants to help, why not join efforts in Congress to bring about a simpler, fairer and less onerous tax code for everyone?