As a performer, tax season can come more than once a year and you have questions! Join our panel of tax experts - also fellow actors - who will answer all your questions and concerns about tax preparation.
Audience participation is encouraged! Please submit questions in advance here. The form will also be available during the program.
SPEAKER BIOS:
More than 30 years ago, Ernie Charles began helping entertainment people prepare their tax returns with the V.I.T.A. (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program administered by the Performers Unions (AEA, AFTRA, SAG). Soon after, he became a licensed tax preparer and started preparing tax returns to help pay the rent while he continued to pursue his acting career. A few years later, he passed the grueling Enrolled Agent exam, allowing him to represent taxpayers before the IRS. After practicing for over 7 years with a major tax firm which specialized in entertainment returns, Ernie realized he was ready to spend more time being creative. He started his own tax service called “Entertaining Taxes", giving him more hours and flexibility to advance his own career. Ernie has represented all sorts of entertainment professionals before IRS in audits, appeals and collections. Ernie moonlights doing taxes returns for entertainment professionals, as he continues to perform, write and produce.
Emily Churchill, EA is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS. She has been doing taxes for over 12 seasons now. She specializes in the entertainment industry and has worked with clients throughout the country. She is also a working actor/writer/producer in the entertainment industry with over 20 years of experience. Her expertise in both the entertainment industry and tax preparation has helped many fellow artists understand their own unique tax situations
Pati Lauren:
As a credentialed, senior tax preparer at M&M Tax Pros in Burbank and a working actor, Pati exemplifies the perfect balance of "show" and "business." With a passion for financial literacy and a teaching heart, Pati loves to inspire those in the entertainment industry to become actively engaged with their finances. In addition to tax preparation, she also offers mentoring for paying down debt and increasing savings, investing as it relates to taxes and strategies for small business/independent contractor-gig income streams. The goal is to travel from being fearful and avoiding to becoming knowledgeable and empowered. Pati will equip you with simple, practical tools so you can be confident in making the best possible money moves and get set for future success. We weren't born knowing how to do this stuff...but there is no excuse now!! Pati has a degree in Film & Television production and has appeared in numerous projects as an actor, host, and precision driver. Her voice has been dubbed into over 100 foreign language films, episodics, and animations. She has several broadcast affiliations and speaking appearances on the topic of taxes and personal finance.
Courtney Shane is an actor, VoiceOver artist and dancer. She graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University, studied with celebrity actor Julianne Moore at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, was directed on network television by Thom Eberhardt, amongst many other projects. She earned a dance degree, traveled to Cuba for intense dance training, performed in music videos as a dancer and performed on professional Salsa Bachata Ballroom Dance Teams. She has performed stand up comedy at The Comedy Store and HaHa Cafe, performed voiceover characters in shows and commercials, trained and performed with Cirque du Soleil, Ringling Brothers and Clowns Without Borders pro clown directors. She earned a degree in Cinema/TV Production and produced and directed Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain music video. She’s currently producing a finger puppet show called Turnip TURNED Up and does all the voices for the show. She loves being an artist and wishes to inspire others to be creative and understand the business of show better.
