New Proposed Bill Would End Tax Breaks For Companies With Sexual Harassment Records

New proposed legislation from assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D - Manhattan) would ban tax breaks for companies who have poor records of sexual harrassment.

Companies hoping for tax credits will have to submit and discloce records of any sexual harrassment cases they've dealt with over the past five years, including the results of those cases, the New York Daily Newsreports. If companies are found to have poor records dealing with sexual harrassment they will not be granted tax credits.

The proposed legislature comes after Harvey Weinstein has been accused of raping and harrassing a growing number of women in the film industry. The Weinstein Company has received at minimum $426,500 in New York state tax credits just since 2011, according to ProPublica. New York offers tax incentives to film and TV studios to film instate in order to make the region more attractive for the entertainment industry.

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"This is to hold companies accountable," Rosenthal told the Daily News. "New York should not be a party to sexual abuse or discrimination."

Dani Leve, a spokesperson for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, said in Daily News' report that "we support this reform and look forward to working with Assemblywoman Rosenthal to make this a reality." She continued: "This reprehensible behavior goes beyond the film industry and we need to look at ways to weed it out across the board. We are looking at broad-based reforms in this arena and are examining what can be implemented administratively and what will require legislation."