Your free speech rights are secondary when some potential tax revenue is on the line, at least in Philadelphia.
Check out this outrageous story.
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.
So you now need a business license to have an online diary. This is outrageous! Do these people even understand what it takes in revenue to even break even on a blog?
Is it improper for a government to require business licenses for actual businesses, even if they are blogs? No. But this is the typical heavy handed approach of those in government more concerned with getting your money than protecting your speech rights.
There out to be reasonable thresholds for this sort of thing otherwise you will prevent those who can least afford it from expressing themselves.
And trust me, if Philly gets away with it, this ridiculousness will be coming to city near you–soon!
Go! Confront the problem. Fight! Win!
ht Gateway Pundit.
August 22, 2010 at 9:31 pm
I followed the links and went to the blog in question (mainly to click on google adsense ads if she had them; she didn't.
August 22, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Large cities (e.g. New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, etc.) tend to be bastions of Leftist bureaucratic tyranny and cesspools of corruption. They impose their wills because they have the means and the muscle to enforce them; and morality, freedom and ethics be damned. It turns out that the residents of these cities exist for the support and growth of the Leftist administrations and not the particular city existing for the welfare of its citizens.
August 22, 2010 at 10:21 pm
This would be one way to silence those bloggers who have the temerity to speak their minds! If the Overlords in charge want to know their opinions, they'll tell those keytapping cretins what they are!
Ein volk, ein reich, ein fuhrer!
August 23, 2010 at 1:02 am
Anybody know if authors have to have a business license? Or actors?
How about newspaper writers?
August 23, 2010 at 6:41 am
Good question! And if you research some of the newspaper articles you will find them to be pure fiction. That would mean two (2) licenses for some newspaper writers!!
August 23, 2010 at 5:56 pm
So, Freedom of Speech is a privilege and not a right, in the city of Philadelphia that costs you a $300 per year tax to engage in. Anyone that wishes to, exercise your constitutional right, to contact these worthless A-Holes can write them at these email addresses:
Philadelphia Mayor's Office
Michael.nutter@phila.gov, mayor.nutter@phila.gov
Philadelphia City Council
Frank.dicicco@phila.gov, Anna.verna@phila.gov, Jannie.l.blackwell@phila.gov, curtis.jones.jr@phila.gov, Darrell.clarke@phila.gov, Joan.krajewski@phila.gov, maria.q.sanchez@phila.gov, Donna.miller@phila.gov, Marian.tasco@phila.gov, Brian.o'neill@phila.gov, Wilson.goode@phila.gov, bill.green@phila.gov, bill.greenlee@phila.gov, Kelly-at-large@phila.gov, Kenney-at-large@phila.gov, Blondell.reynolds.brown@phila.gov, Frank.rizzo@phila.gov
If you wish or desire to remain anonymous in communicating with these fascist pigs; the German Privacy Foundation can assist you in sending anonymous emails. Its URL is: https://www.awxcnx.de/mm-anon-email.htm
August 24, 2010 at 12:04 am
i cannot believe this.. how can they legitimately say this is a "business"
and … wow.. i think you have watched a certain movie as much as i have 😉