Philly Wants Bloggers to Pay $300 Tax
by Warner Todd HustonAre you a blogger in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania? Do you have Google Adsense or some other sort of low-return ads on your blog? If so expect a letter soon from your friendly city treasurer demanding that you pay a $300 tax on your “money making business.”
For most people that maintain an active blog it is just a hobby. Some people blog daily but most only do so a few times a month. Many bloggers also participate in Google’s advertising program called Adsense but few make much more than $20 or $30 a year from the effort.
But according to the City of Philadelphia, you have a lucrative business one that you need to register with the city and either pay $50 a year tax or a “lifetime” fee of $300 to be allowed to operate.
Naturally the Philly bloggers that have gotten this letter are flabbergasted. None of them were even aware they have a taxable business with their blog. Ah, but the city disagrees.
Even though small-time bloggers aren’t exactly raking in the dough, the city requires privilege licenses for any business engaged in any “activity for profit,” says tax attorney Michael Mandale of Center City law firm Mandale Kaufmann. This applies “whether or not they earned a profit during the preceding year,” he adds.
And America’s cities wonder why people won’t start businesses in them? This sort of lunacy is simply penalizing entrepreneurship at even the tiniest level. Like the story of the seven-year-old girl whose lemonade stand was shut down by City Health inspectors a few weeks ago, this Philly story shows that there isn’t an ounce of decency or common sense in government. It is also just another sign of how out of control government in America has become.
Additionally, this is one sure way to shut down any political blogger in the city, isn’t it? Who would pay $50 a year to rant about government? Few would bother if they were forced to pay to blog.
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85 Comments
Get ready for "net neutering" coming soon to a constitutional republic near you!
This Phascist-Philly-Phool's-Phinance-Pharce is the next "experimental" step required to get away with permanently silencing dissent and installing a Hugo Chavez / Phidel Castro styled dictatorship.
I don't know about anyone else but I prefer not to be treated as a "lab rat" to be "experimented" on by aspiring dictators and despots mad with power and arrogant contempt for the American people…
Just Look at Mark Lloyd's expressed love for the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez and his "handling of the opposition media", they intend to permanently silence us.
Speak up now or forever lose your right to political dissent against government insanity.
FYI there is only one independent opposition TV network left in Venezuela now and Hugo the dictator is preparing to permanently silence it very soon…
I wonder, what about street hustlers?
Looking for decency or common sense in government is a waste of time as long as their run by progressives!
"I wonder, what about street hustlers?"
You mean like Al Sharpton?
People at the local level need to raise a firestorm, call the mayor and council assembly members, and let them know their time is up with the tax schemes. Make your message short, sweet and loud. Your voices heard and VOTE THEM OUT.
I had no idea that the Government (in this case a local Government) could charge for the Right of Free Speech….. seems Philly forgot all about those little get togethers the Founders had in the City long ago.
Whats next? Charging for the Privilege of joining a Church or Synagogue?….. Muslims will be exempt from paying a fee, of course.
My music blog actually costs me money. Sure, Blogspot is free, but I have a Smug Mug account for image hosting and a Lunar Pages account for audio. I do have a PayPal donate button, but musicians aren't exactly well heeled readers. No way I'd want to run any ads either.
Oh, and I use my Mobile Me account sometimes too, so that's yet another cost.
If I gave them half the profits from my blog, they'd owe me the $300.00 lol.
Dear AZ Primary Voters,
Tomorrow you will be asked to participate in deciding who will compete in the November 2010 elections.
On your ballot you will be deciding between Hayworth and McCain. If you cast your ballot for McCain you will be voting for the man that, when it mattered most, chose to stand with the liberal democratic party and against you. Trust me, if McCain would have ended up being the deciding vote on amnesty for illegals he would have voted for it, all the while calling your opposition to it “racist” or “nativist.” McCain had an opportunity time and again to demonstrate who, and what, Barrak Obama really is, but told his campaign staff to behave like gentlemen. At what cost must we be asked to pay for John McCains nobility? Obamacare? Cap and Trade? Amnesty? That cost is too high to bear.
If Hayworth wins other progressive liberals in the Republican party will be further pushed into irrelevancy. The McCain’s and the Crist’s of our party must be shown the door; to fail to do this will only reinforce the ruling classes notion that they can do to us whatever they please; and we will never resist. Sure we will scream and yell, but on election day we will forget.
Well, tomorrow is election day are you going to commit the sin of forgetting?
What do you say we give the ruling political class the what for! Vote for HAYWORTH!
They call me Philly and I want to make an offer you cannot refuse, capisce?
I have two words for the city of Philadelphia, and the second one is "YOU!"…
This doesn't surprise me at all. Local governments are just as bad as the Fed and State government for finding new ways to spend money so they too have to find new ways to stick their hand in the pockets of the citizens.
What needs to be worried about is that we now have a city for the most part now saying that if you want to have free speech, you have to cough up money to do so. You can be sure that over time this regulation will be exploited for political purposes to try and shut down opposing speech. You'll be able to bet your last dollar on a sure bet that it will be the Dems that would try that tactic.
A strong and serious tax revolt will be the only thing that will stop this insanity.
I'd like to see the Business License that Panhandlers have in the City of Philadelphia.
They talk to people, and they make real money doing it.
Mmmm Philly cheesesteak sounds good right now.
Also
http://www.ralphsrestaurant.com/ralphs/history.ht...
Seems absurd but on second thought it's no more rediculous than the multitude of taxes we have on everything from Liquior licenses to hair cutters to tanning salons.
The ruling class will not stop until we we stop them or they run out of money…and in a Lefty enclave like Philly where most inhabitants are dependent on public assistance or government patronage, no one is about to stop them.
Can anyone remember what "Free Enterprise" is?
So I guess the new mantra is: If ya can't beat them, tax them….I think I have it now.
More proof that big government hates the peasants having money.
The Founding Fathers are spinning in their graves.
It's deeper than some $300 license…..wake up…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv-G79DIY7k
Excessive Taxation is oppressive and in this instance it is purely designed to throttle dissension. Bombard these people with phone calls, letters and e-mails to let them know you're fed up with the corruption and lies. Stop the madness!
And good luck to all the candidates running against the socialist swine in Washington, DC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFwsWN0XkQM
This may be a case of DOUBLE TAXATION, Since you need to subscribe to a service to access the Internet…
PLUS It will be extremely hard to enforce…
.
Where's the " Brotherly love "
Ooh. Ooh. I know. Is it "Thank you?" : )
Like a bullshitter tax? DC alone could eliminate the national debt…
Pia Varma TRIED to run for congress and give people a choice in Philly.
However, you have no idea what kind of political machine is in place there. The people have NO choice.
Ah the good ole days before the internet. Tar and feathers anyone?
The anniversary of 9/11 is coming up. I personally refuse to watch ANYTHING THAT INCLUDES the Obamas! on that day. Let them go to a mosque!
If those hypocrites dare to appear anywhere, EVEN IN D.C., they will not like the results after pushing that Mosque, and Socializing U,S, all year!
HEY OBAMAS, stay home ON 9/11! and hide your heads. AMERICA KNOWS that you've been SOCIALIZING U.S, and that you're not finished yet!
Spend the day closing up our So Borders, if it doesn't interfere with the deals you've made with Mexico, Venezeuela, Soros, Calderone, & other Dictators, to use the open Borders to take over OUR Culture and Country!
This is what President Ronald Reagan had to say about how Democrats in Government view Taxation……
"If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it."
So, The People's Republic of Philadelphia wants some people to pay more in taxes than they earn. Shocking………sarc.
We receive 'free' blessings from the church and fellow parishioners… I wonder what 'taxable cost' they will place on that so they can tax us…
I understand that the bill will be introduced in September. I don't think these blogger's sites will stand up to the definition of a business……unless you're a libtard or a progressive tax attorney. They seem to being saying that they want to tax based on the blogger's "potential" to become a business.
That's Prog/Lib insanity, again.
Some examples I found at uncoverage.net:
You knit mittens and sweaters and baby blankets and they make perfect Christmas gifts for your grandchildren. However, because your knitting skill is so advanced, there’s tremendous potential there for profit. Therefore, you’re a business, subject to licensing, taxes, the whole nine yards.
You love to dabble in oil painting and are extremely proud of your Blue Ribbon won at the fair. But, hold on there, Bucko….It may be just a hobby to you but there’s great potential for huge profits from your hobby, therefore you are a business. You’ll need a license for that.
You keep a hand-written diary? Oh, Baby, Baby! You realize, of course, the potential for your secrets to be turned into a book deal, followed by a screenplay? The movie deal could result in millions! You’re a business. You’ll need a license for that.
The rank and file Liberal views Government as the only blessing that is needed….. and Government costs Money, lots, and lots of Money.
The Liberal feels Blessed that there is a Government in place to think for the Liberal, to make all decisions for the Liberal.
Aaah the city of my birth. The city of the wage tax that learned from fast Eddie to shut down important services to stampede the law abing taxpayer to cough up more to keep the good times rollin for the likes of the Municipal Workers Union. Those running the place would rather lose it all than give up one red cent in tax money. I have watched from further and further away as the City of Brotherly Love slides into Barbarism.
Our government, at all levels, (city, county, state, federal)….liars, and fraudsters, and thieves….oh my!
What would the natl socilist dem party do if they couldn't tax, and control U.S?
This is the classic case of voting for the lesser of two evils.
McCain is basically a progressive in Wolf clothing and will eventually move to give illegals amnesty.
Hayworth is an embarrassment to Arizona who believes using big vocabulary words makes him smart. In reality he is a dope.
McCain had his chance to win the presidency and we got Obama instead. In my book that's enough to put John out to pasture for the rest of his war hero life.
But… Having Hayworth in office is like letting a monkey drive your car, its going to crash.
I voted for the third Republican on the Primary ticket…. You should too.
Heck Obama needs another vacation. Tax U.S!
Oh, and leave US with dangerous open Borders. It's part of the takeover plan.
It may be fink or flak or funk, its on the tip of my tongue?
They don't call them "Tax and Spend Liberals" for nothing!
They don't call them "Bleeding Heart Liberals" for nothing.
The next "bleeding heart" fake speech will come from the obamas on 9/11, yuk..
JOE…step away from the bong…you are aware there is another candidate, right??? mccan't and haystack are the cause of our problems…
there is a working man on the ballot…JIM DEAKIN…he has created jobs, knows how much a gallon of gas costs, and knows how to get to his local market to spend HIS money on food.
mccan't hasn't produced anything except more and more taxes, ill eagals and infringments on our rights…huh??? yeah 'member mccan't/findgoldigger….
haystack was removed by the voters becuz he's a fuggin' crook…
now step away from the bong and let's go to TINY's saloon for a cold one…I'll drive…
T'is a dark day indeed when speech is being taxed. I wonder if liberal sites would get a "tax-exempt" label on their sites? Just as red states are getting less than blue states, just as floods in Nashville are ignored while paper-cuts in Oakland garner federal funds, the gloves are coming off when it comes to equal treatment under the law.
This, sadly enough, is not surprizing.
I would only change one thing in your comment…I would remove the word tax…
Yeah. I have to admit it's flown off the tip of my tongue quite a bit over the last year and a half.
They have jobs, Mayor, council members, union thugs…..
I live in a suburb of Philly and I can tell you from first-hand experience that the city has been mismanaged and run into the toilet by the several mayors starting with Wilson Goode. No one knows what they are doing. They are all socialists and/or crooks like Street.
Pat's or Geno's??
Well someone has to pay for all those welfare recipients that keep voting in democrats….
Margaret Thatcher once said that 'The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money'.
Seems the bill in Philly has come due.
Keep your eyes open and your hand on your wallet, could be you live close enough to Philly for Philadelphians to come get some cash off you, just for being alive.
Umm… …no, I had something entirely different in mind…
Philly has been a huge Dem stronghold for 50 years, just to note. I live about an hour away and I can't say I'm shocked. It's not as if Street and Rendell didn't run taxes up enough while my grandparents were living in Port Richmond.
I love the city but its voter-base really needs to wake up. Considering that Philly has garnered a hefty amount of welfare recipients over the years doesn't help either.
I live far enough away so that their idiocy doesn't get to me, but close enough to point and shake my head at the residents there.
Philly is heading the way of Detroit, except for better sports teams
I'm pretty sure it's bad there, a lot like Chicago. Keep fighting, remain informed and do all you can to engage your friends and neighbors concerning the consequences of bad government. I hope one day soon that all people in Phila will pause from distractions like the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers, or the Flyers, etc., and focus on restoring common sense in government. Never wave the white flag of surrender my friend. The people DO have choices; will enough care remains the question.
Yeah, they're running low on people with actual jobs, so now they have to go after people with hobbies.
The city is desperate for cash. Its like a drug and they need a fix, however they can get it. Wouldn't it be nice if as a homeowner, you get overdrawn at the bank and your bills exceed your income so you just go next door and demand money.
if you think this is about cash, think again. They are looking for a way to give conservative001@aol.com a name and address. Either through the registration and paperwork you fill out to pay the fee or through a search warrant when they discover the fee hasnt been paid. This is a pilot program to kill anonymity.
next they will tax the very air we breath.
Right, a synonym for living under obama's marxism.
The bottom line in Philadelphia: http://i42.tinypic.com/2coh0y8.jpg
Sounds like a tax on free speech to me. Which means it's not free speech anymore. Which means the progressives must be in charge.
What about garage sales and lemonade stands?
You are correct sir, my error.
This is an infringement on freedom of speech. Most bloggers don't make money off of their opinions. Even if they do, its not going to cover the cost of a "fee" to have the "privilege" of putting their thoughts in a public forum.
wow…with all the problems Philly has already has, with all the BS taxes and fees the residents must deal with already, the city leaders want to cripple their town even more??
I'm surprised the city hasn't become a ghost town yet.
Isn't this interstate commerce?
EVERYTHING is interstate commerce
Every month I get a Telephone Bill, I pay them X amount of dollars plus a 5% Sales Tax, next I pay the Fees and Funds. are you ready for this? Maine Service Provider Tax, Federal Excise Tax, Maine E911 Funding Fee, Fcc Regulatory Fee, Maine Universal Service Fund, Maine School and Library Fund,ConnectME Fund, Lnp Recovery Fee and Regulatory Recovery Fee – State. I don't have a BLOG by I will bet they will find some new way of taxing me because I am on the Internet.
The tax is meant to shut people up as well as loot the people for more revenue. The bloggers should sue, because it is a violation of the First Amendment.
Time to cut spending! It is the spending and money mismanagement. Elected officials have gotten enough money. It burns their hands. They cannot spend it fast enough. Is it about the tax money or control?
When do I officialy kiss the internet goodbye?
If only we could rap some copper wire around them and get some electricity, it would not be a total loss…
What's the tax on it?
Yeah, the first step to outlawing anything is to put a tax or fee on it.When you see a city official outside of your church with his hand out, you'll know the end of religion is near.
Actually when I was there I went to both and it was at 6 in the morning.
I won't call favs, but I still carry the Geno's 'speak English only' pen.
Mmmmmm.
I have a short thought. This is nuts.
If the blog is selling advertising space or otherwise attempting to make money, then it should have to apply for a business license like everyone else.
This headline is somewhat misleading.
Yep, it should be unconstitutional for much the same reason that Obamacare should be unconstitutional – You can't regulate commerce that isn't actually happening.
This is taxing the chicken before it actually hatches.
So, if a neighbor notices my garden and decides they would like to have some fresh tomatoes and I decide to sell half a dozen for $1.50, I'm therefore a business and need to purchase a license for infinitely more than I would ever make selling produce? What about if someone buys one of my crocheted throws and I charge enough to cover the cost of materials + $10? Am I a business then? How about the neighborhood kid who offers to cut the lawns of his neighbors for $20 just once to earn some extra cash? Is he a business?
Basically, your position is that no one, for any reason, can ever expect monetary compensation for anything they may do just because they do it and someone else would like to benefit from their labor in some way because if they do, they're a business. I guess the local babysitter just got run out on a rail, too.
Hey! Free energy! And I thought it couldn't be done.
Have they defined what a blogger is? I still don't know. Is posting blogging? Are we blogging here?
Is Drudge a blogger? Does anyone with a website that posts comments about things a blogger? Is texting blogging?
Is using youtube a form of visual blogging?
I have no idea what the answers to the above are but then I am not a shyster or a shylock.
That was one heck of a strawman you spent your time constructing there.
If they are in BUSINESS, like as in actually running a business and not just selling an afghan to your daughter's friend's mom, then they need to follow the law in their jurisdiction.
Your screed isn't even a relevant to my point. What happens if your tomatoes are poisoned? Or the babysitter is negligent and something happens? Or the neighborhood kid runs over my irrigation system and my cat with his mower? You (and them) are in really, really, really deep doodoo.
An actual business would be protected and insured in such a case. They'd also have a license to operate.
If the point of the blog/garden/lawn mower/crochete needles/CPR certification is to make money or produce revenue, then yes, you should purchase a business license like everyone else.
If your beef is with how much a business license costs in Philly, then I suggest you move somewhere else.
Business license in Virginia Beach is $40.
So what you are saying is you want preferencial treatment? Or what? Apply for non-profit status or don't sell your tomatoes, give them away like a normal human who doesn't try to snake every dollar they can out of their neighbor.
There is a huge difference between a hobby and a business. I would assume you are smart enough to know that. The law does.
THIS IS A DIRECT TAX ON FREE SPEECH!
I cannot believe the absurdity of imposing this tax on internet users as if it's some sort of commodity that can be marketed for profit. SHAME ON YOU PHILLY!
You'd would think there would be some sort of net neutrality laws in place to prevent these sort of shenanigans.
I wonder how much it costs a 12 year old to open up a lemonade stand in Philly?
yeah, because I'm sure those people are sending in their w-2's every year (sar)
Google Adsense already deducts federal taxes for it's use, so while I disagree with the sentiment of this, if Pennsylvania and it's city have income tax requirements, I can see their argument. Again though, I think it's a bit extreme as income tax should always be based on what you earn, not a random fee you have to pay.
Did you read the article? This is in regards to bloggers that make money from ads, not just random people writing about their stamp collections.
This literally has nothing to do with free speech, did you read the article?
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