Blogger Uproar in Philadelphia

Have you all heard about the uproar in Philadelphia about the blogging bussiness tax? While this doesn't affect the Mistress, she is just outside city limits and I don't advertise on my blog, I would love to hear what you think. This is from the Washington Examiner.

Bloggers in Philadelphia are upset over a city business fee that they say is an unfair tax on their Internet musings. The city's so-called business privilege license costs $50 a year or $300 for a lifetime. If a blog takes money for advertising, or sells photographs or other goods, it's a business and must pay for a license — no matter how little it makes — plus taxes on profits. A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter says the license is nothing new and is required for any moneymaking enterprise, from large corporations to neighborhood pizza joints and all other kinds of mom-and-pop businesses. But the idea of the city mandating a license for people who blog in their spare time and garner some income, no matter how minuscule, rankled the blogosphere, though it was clear there is a distinction that some bloggers are pros, while others are just hobbyists.
The uproar began after the city Revenue Department recently sent out letters to Philadelphia residents who reported business revenue with the Internal Revenue Service but hadn't gotten a city business license. Some bloggers are complaining that the fee would impinge on their free speech and would discourage dissent. They also say it's unfair to require a business to pay taxes if it's making only $25-$50 a year. What do yuo think about this?

Source: http://mistressmaddie.blogspot.com/2010/08/blogger-uproar-in-philadelphia.html