Philadelphia is looking to charge bloggers within the city limits a $300 fee for a Business Privilege License, according to The Escapist. According to the article, if you have any ads on your site whatsoever, they consider you a business, regardless of how much money you make. The two bloggers mentioned made less that $100 over a 2 year period in ad revenue. On top of that, the city is demanding that they make that ad revenue taxable incoming, in addition to their state and federal taxes.
When one of the bloggers affected talked to the city, they were told to “get an accountant,” which seems to be a bit on the crass and harsh side of the fence for someone who generally just likes to write about their passion, and makes literally pennies a day doing so. In the comments, one poster notes that Philadelphia is also attempted to pass a “sugary-drink” tax, no doubt attempting to mirror Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s “Sugary-drink tax.” While neither city is known for an overabundance of competency in their governing bodies, this attempting to man-handle bloggers, most of which don’t make any money off of their blogs, reeks of desperation.
The Escapist : Forums : The News Room : Philadelphia Charging Bloggers $300 for Business License
lvl-42.com 