Aug 29
Web and Graphic Design

Philadelphia to levy tax on most Bloggers

By William Levins
When you first learn of this, you can't really believe it's true. Could a city be so down on its luck that it would attempt to tax even casual bloggers? It seems utterly absurd. But I guess the the City of Brotherly Love holds no love for bloggers.
 

If your blog has "profit making potential" you must purchase a $50/year license

Essentially, if you have a blog, and you're running Google AdSense ads on it, or using some other type of advertising system, or if you receive products to evaluate or free samples - you're a business according to the City of Philadelphia, and they want their pound of flesh.
 
Essentially, all businesses operating in Philadelphia must register and obtain a license. And the city considers bloggers who have the potential to profit (no matter how small) a business, and thus the blogger is required to acquire a business license and to pay city taxes on earnings.
 
Though not specifically targeting bloggers, the blogosphere has ignited against the licensing policy. Articles indicate some bloggers received form letters from the city indicating they owe a $300 business tax. The speculation, the City of Philadelphia was notified by the IRS about anyone who reported additional earnings that were unreported to the City.
 

Is Philadelphia now the City of Big Brotherly Monitoring?

If the city didn't learn of blogger's profits from the IRS, then from where? Did the city start to monitor it's citizens online? According to comments in Computerword by Maura Kennedy, a spokesperson for the city, the city wants money-making bloggers to register their business and start paying the tax - and they're prepared to find the bloggers. Ominously, Kennedy indicates the city may employ technology to uncover bloggers saying, "I'm sure we'll be using enforcement tools," she added. "We're taking this very seriously. Everyone needs to do their part and pay taxes. Everyone needs to do their fair share."
 
To include all bloggers that have the potential to make money in the round up is short sighted. There should be some minimal profit level that's required before the tax and/or licensing kicks in. Something above and beyond the $300 being levied would seem to make sense. It's understandable that the city would look to creative solutions to supplement lost tax dollars and augment decreased federal funds - but to do so at the expense of it's citizens who are also struggling seems counter intuitive. I'm sure we'll hear more about this from bloggers in Philadelphia, provided they're licensed.
 
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