Judge declares $5 'pole tax' unconstitutional

[TJ Phaserman 2]

AUSTIN, Texas - A $5-per-customer fee on strip club patrons dubbed the "pole tax" has been declared unconstitutional.

 

A state district judge ruled Friday that clubs can't collect the fee. The charge went into effect in January and was expected to raise about $44 million for sexual assault prevention programs and health care for the uninsured.

 

Judge Scott Jenkins wrote that the fee, "while furthering laudable goals, violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and is therefore invalid."

 

The Texas Entertainment Association Inc., which is a group of topless clubs, and Karpod Inc., the owner of an Amarillo club, sued Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Comptroller Susan Combs over the fee.

 

Witnesses for the strip clubs testified at a hearing last year that the clubs would go out of business if they had to collect an additional $5-per-patron fee.

 

Lawyers for the state had said the Legislature was within its rights to impose the fee on businesses that serve alcohol and offer nude performances.

 

Attorneys for the state have argued that the fee does not prohibit nude dancing, does not regulate what entertainers wear and does not regulate the businesses in other ways. The state can appeal the decision.

[Gummy 0]

Maybe the Judge is also a customer?

[ddillard 2]

I have to agree adding another fee that they have to charge would stop alot of people from going. The door charge is already high enough, let alone the cost of a beer.

[MrPsychic 1]

5 dollars isn't that much per person, and it's going to a pretty good fund. How about it's not enforced, but the donation is strongly suggested, kinda like they do at museums or other places.

[ddillard 2]

Keep in mind though that the typical door charge is already between $10 to $20 as it is now.

[MrPsychic 1]

Keep in mind though that the typical door charge is already between $10 to $20 as it is now.

That doesn't seem that much. Then again, I wouldn't know the price of cover.

[Wishfire 2]

I never paid a door charge.

 

Oh, right, someone else paid it for me.

[Kor37 9]

Besides the door charge, the booze is usually about 75% higher than in a regular bar. Plus you need money for lap dances...............

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

5 extra bucks to see a pole dance with Krissy? No problem, it's worth it.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

Maybe the Judge is also a customer?

Most definitely. And God forbid strip clubs actually make an effort to keep their performers from getting beaten, raped, or staying healthy. Can't have that. :lol: You know, people have to learn that fantasy, when it's flesh and blood, is expensive. If you don't want to cough up some extra dough, then go home and put that infinite imagination the gods gave you for free to good use. The best kind of fantasy is the kind that stays upstairs anyway (IMO).

[youbroughtheryouRiker 2]

I agree the pole tax is stupid, almost as stupid as Michigan's Consumer Use Tax, but how is this violating the First Amendment? Is this really abridging the right to peaceably assemble? :lol:

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Any use tax is stupid.

 

You know what a use tax is? It is a tax on using something you bought in (or from) another state but used in your state. It is a tax on using your own property.

 

Lets say I in California wanted to buy some cheese from Wisconsin or ice cream from Vermont. However, the companies in these other states don't do enough business in California to establish "nexus" (an obligation to collect sales tax and send it to that state's government). I therefore have to pay the amount of tax these companies would have had to collect in sales taxes directly to my government.

 

The key difference is with a sales tax I am paying for something I don't yet own. With a use tax I am paying for something I already own.