Bill > S2180

This bill, known as the Support Theaters in America Growth and Expansion Act or the STAGE Act, amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend tax incentives to certain live theatrical productions. Specifically, it modifies Section 181 of the code to allow for the expensing of qualified live theatrical productions, similar to how qualified film and television productions are treated, and extends the applicability of these incentives to December 31, 2015. A "qualified live theatrical production" is defined as a live staged play, with or without music, derived from a written script, produced by a commercial entity in venues with a capacity of 3,000 or fewer, and where at least 75 percent of the total compensation is "qualified compensation" (meaning compensation for services performed within the United States). The bill also clarifies that separate phases or simultaneous stagings of the same production can be treated as separate productions for tax purposes, and it excludes productions involving certain types of adult content. Additionally, the bill amends Section 469 of the Internal Revenue Code to treat interests in qualified live theatrical productions as passive activities, with each phase of a production (initial staging, subsequent stagings/touring, and disposition of rights) being considered a separate activity for tax purposes, and the termination of any phase being treated as a disposition of the entire interest in that passive activity. These changes are effective for productions commencing after December 31, 2013.