Taxing bloggers
August 26th, 2010 at 4:00 pm by David FarrarCity Paper reports:
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. …
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. …
A privilege license? Is there no end to the ways some governments will try and extort money from its citizens and residents?
Related posts:
- Is Labour trying to regulate party bloggers?
- Barry vs the bloggers!
- An academic survey of bloggers and blog readers
- Bloggers as Journalists
August 26th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
I hope Hone Key and his gang of troughers and convicted ex mp troughers,DONT notice this blog, Mr Farrar, YOUR mates , hone key will squeeze us more, SQUEESE AND SQUEEZE, we voted labour therefore national will punish NZ right Hone
Vote:hell i will ALLWAYS post against troughers therefore im posting against the troughing national party, the pig trough isnt big enough for current and EX mps, therefore the tax base will expand
August 26th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Makes me want to puke blood.
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Pre-emptive strike before Peter “The Lid” Dunne, Revenue Minister, gets any funny ideas….
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
“Is there no end to the ways some governments will try and extort money from its citizens and residents?”
Not if those citizens just lie back and let them. There is a layer of government employed elitists who view the rest of the country as an entity that exists purely to provide them with a living. (Chris Carter, now on a completely unsubstantiated “sick leave” is one such elitist.)
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Absolutely Red.
Vote:It is up to the good people of Philly to seek them out, sack them and ensure they never work in Local or National government ever again.
Go for it!
August 26th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
What kind of retarded scheme charges a lump sum for the “privilege” of carrying on a business anyway? Tax on profits is one thing, but this is just absurd.
The irony is that if any of them refuse to pay, I wouldn’t put it past the city to waste a lot more money taking them to court “to make an example.”
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
600% tax? Cool. Why not.
God Bless America eh? A shining light and beacon of freedom, entrepreneurship, so much better than our leftist little country eh baiter?
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
In USA local councils often have enormous powers to licence things, control rental properties (rentals, tenancies and preventing apartment blocks being converted to condos (ie unit titling) ). They can even forcibly buy up a investor power utility’s distribution network. New York City proposed or implemented a byelaw banning the private possession or use of air quality meters, the purpose being to reduce the number of air quality complaints.
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
“so much better than our leftist little country eh baiter?”
Yawn.. you professional leftists are so unbelievably ignorant.
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
I’d tell the fuckers where they can stick their poxy tax. Seems to me the desperation has begun to set in and the parasitic grasshoppers can see the setting sun and are now feeling a cold chill down their spines I’ve notice increasing bullshit money making schemes coming from our parasite classes in New Zealand. If you are part of the productive sector in this country you are fair game to these diseased parasitic fucks, they to can see their lifestyle choice is under severe threat. These bastards have well and truly plucked the goose.
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
Time to smack these tax fuckers with a cattle zapper bob.
Vote:When does GST go up said the cow as it jumped over the moon?
August 26th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
We have an ETS
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Ah, the Land of the Free.
Almost makes socialism seem benevolent, doesn’t it?
Vote:August 26th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Luc Hands-on – mayor’s a Democrat, what were you expecting ?
Vote:August 27th, 2010 at 6:39 am
It is not so much revenue raising as an attempt at censorship.
Vote:August 27th, 2010 at 9:48 am
In New Zealand they charge a business an annual fee if a staff member is listening to an ipod.
Vote: