Came across an interesting story about “blogging tax” in Philadelphia. In essence, if a Philadelphia blogger takes in any revenue (even if its 50 cents a year from adsense on their blog), then they are required to purchase a $300 Business Privilege license – regardless if they actually make a profit. This is now getting a lot of national attention from many bloggers – as most blogs don’t even take in enough revenue to cover their hosting costs, much less take in enough to make a profit.
The local government is trying to soothe the outrage that is taking hold in the blogging community, but remains resolved in their position: if you take in revenue in an attempt to generate profit, then you are required to pay for the license/tax.
Many persons have spoken out against this fee, insisting that even if the truest letter of the law allows, that the persons that work in the government office have the right to determine what is appropriate to pursue for fees.
Others have said its stepping on their rights of free speech, citing that they are being “taxed” to be able to post their thoughts for the public to read – because they are clearly running their blog at a loss, not a profit.
It should definitely be interesting to see how all of this pans out – as other cities seeing their own budgetary issues, may decide to follow Philadelphia’s lead on trying to generate additional revenue from their own local blogging community.
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