This is ridiculous. The City of Philadelphia (run by progressives and liberals) is telling bloggers they have to pay $300 per year for a business license. Let me tell you, blogging is not very lucrative, and this will cost blogs that don’t generate a ton of traffic more than they earn.
City Paper reported:
For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.
In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.
“The real kick in the pants is that I don’t even have a full-time job, so for the city to tell me to pony up $300 for a business privilege license, pay wage tax, business privilege tax, net profits tax on a handful of money is outrageous,” Bess says.
It would be one thing if Bess’ website were, well, an actual business, or if the amount of money the city wanted didn’t outpace her earnings six-fold. Sure, the city has its rules; and yes, cash-strapped cities can’t very well ignore potential sources of income. But at the same time, there must be some room for discretion and common sense.
When Bess pressed her case to officials with the city’s now-closed tax amnesty program, she says, “I was told to hire an accountant.”
She’s not alone. After dutifully reporting even the smallest profits on their tax filings this year, a number — though no one knows exactly what that number is — of Philadelphia bloggers were dispatched letters informing them that they owe $300 for a privilege license, plus taxes on any profits they made.
Even if, as with Sean Barry, that profit is $11 over two years.
H/T Gateway Pundit
The Pirates Cove linked, with a few choice words for Philly liberal bloggers. Heh!
Support Your Local Gun Slinger linked also – and he’s not happy about this since he’s a Philly blogger. From what I can tell he’s not of the liberal or progressive persuasion.
Tags: bloggers, business, charging, license, Philadelphia, ridiculous
[...] The Lonely Conservative and Gateway [...]
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They can get it from my cold, dead hands. Not that my blog makes money, anyway.
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[...] may want to break out the duct tape, gang, because you’re going to need it. The Lonely Conservative has the insanity: This is ridiculous. The City of Philadelphia (run by progressives and liberals) is telling [...]
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If Philly is doing it that means its only time that the Great Blue Empire State will impose a fee as well. Conservative bloggers will have to pay a premium. Heh!
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That’s not funny!!
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Looks like everyone else is all over this story now. Don’t you hate when you’re the first to find it, and get no credit? Always drove me nuts.
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Yes. I noticed that late last night and this morning. Even Drudge had a headline.
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[...] Mayor Michael Nutter defended the city’s policy to force bloggers to pay $300 per year for a business license. (He’s interviewed at about the halfway point in the video.) “If you’re paying [...]
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