Gov’t Grabs Cash From Bloggers

While it’s true that desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures, Philadelphia’s requirement that bloggers get a $300 business license seems a bit much for an enterprise that pays pennies, if anything at all.

Yes, we all recognize cash-strapped cities are looking in every nook and cranny for revenue in this never-ending recession, but Philly politicians must have really overshot their budget to put this stupid idea on the table.

Simply put, government regulation/oversight of web activities (except in cases of illegality) should not be acceptable. The beauty of the web is that as long as you’re willing to pay for access (broadband, dial-up, DSL, whatever), you are free to travel online and meet folks without leaving the comfort of your chair.

That is unless you’re a blogger in the City of Brotherly Love, in which case you better plan on digger deeper into your wallet.

“… if you write a blog, the city says you need to obtain a $300 business license plus pay taxes on any profits made,” writes Dick Eastman , who blogs on computers, web-related trends and genealogy. “The taxes seem reasonable but a $300 business license?”

“All this is in spite of the fact that most blogs make less than $50 a year, there is no outward sign of a business at the blogger's residence, there is no increased traffic to and from the blogger's place of 'business' and there is no other impact to the city,’’ Eastman writes.

To Marilyn Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut, writes Mark Hemingway for washingtonexaminer.com. 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.

Philadelphia requires anyone “conducting commercial activity” to buy a business privilege license that costs $300 for a lifetime, or $50 per year. Businesses also must pay taxes on any profit they make. What would publisher Ben Franklin, arguably the most famous Philadelphian of Colonial times, write about this government intrusion?

Many blogs contain advertisements which, after a high level of viewer clicks is reached, pay the blogger a nominal amount of money. Google ads are nearly universal in terms of appearing on blogs, free and commercial websites. To be honest, many viewers ignore them.

“The IRS is the fastest way to find them (bloggers), though we have other avenues that we don't advertise,” a Philadelphia Department of Revenue representative told CNNMoney.com. City officials say they did not target blogs specifically, and only sites serving ads – and therefore making money – are subject to the business license requirements.

“Some of those blogger folks didn't realize when their passions became a business,” the city rep told CNN’s Julianne Pepitone. “We haven't singled anybody out. We love the self-employed. Philly is a city with a creative economy.”

Philadelphia isn't alone in demanding that local business operators cough up registration paperwork and fees. Boston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., among other major cities, also require business licenses, according to Pepitone.

NBC's Philadelphia website accused the city of “taking a step closer to an eerie Orwellian state where creativity is crushed in the name of 'the greater good.'” Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin blasted the city for “requiring a license for Internet activists and hobbyists to exercise their free speech.”

On the other hand, the Washington Post pointed out the city was merely following the letter of the law and treating businesses equally: “Bloggers running ads next to their copy shouldn't be exempt if the requirement also applies to people selling old junk on eBay.”

WMB, like many other blogs, has Google ads which, for the most part, reflect the subject matter of the posts. Click on them or not, it’s your choice. To date, this blog's authors have not profited financially from the association with Google, though the company serves as the blog’s host.

WMB’s content, gathered from the far corners of the web and linked to original sources, is provided as a free service to viewers, no strings attached (though we encourage you to share posts with friends, family and colleagues). Our goal, like that of many bloggers, is to increase our viewership and present our take on a particular topic.

That said, WMB’s authors firmly believe in an unfettered web, where there is a free flow and exchange of ideas and comments on subjects such as health, environment and jobs/economy – areas which seem to generate much traffic to our blog. We agree in your right to disagree with us on any topic.

But we view government intrusion into our personal pursuits, including blogging, as something akin to putting a charge on the air we breathe. Let’s hope business licensing for bloggers trends offline, where it rightfully belongs.

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