LICENSE TO BLOG: That
the City of Philadelphia is demanding bloggers who seek advertising to pay $300 for a Business Privilege License plus taxes on any profits made is not the reason why we've never sought advertising ... but it doesn't help, either.
The debate as I've seen it on other, less informed places (like the former PhillyBlog) seems to concentrate on the injustice of making "bloggers" pay for the BPL and missed the bigger picture of whether any small business (or business of any size) should have to pay that $300. And businesses, blogs and otherwise, don't just pay on the profits, which I'm guessing aren't much when you really do some accounting about the costs side, but pay a separate tax on the revenue brought in. That's the kick in the teeth... taxed on revenue whether a business makes a profit or not. Hopefully the attention brought on by the city making the correct assertion that bloggers who make money are, in fact, businesses (albeit very small businesses) and are subject to the same tax as other small businesses will help spark up the debate again about whether the business privilege tax is a well structured source of revenue for the city or something that is truly holding back start-ups and innovation.
ReplyDeleteAnd if bloggers who make money from advertising don't have to pay the BPL or the tax on their revenue and profits, then my wife and I who rent out her old house basically to cover the mortgage should have to pay a tax on that revenue. Just sayin.
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