Anyway, the city tried. But a judge said the city went too far. He said the City Council must pass a specific ordinance to this effect.
“If the city wants to tax lap dances, they can go to City Council, ask City Council to amend the ordinance, and they can start imposing a tax on lap dances. Or anything else they want: karaoke songs, piano playing. Anything they want. But you have to put it in the ordinance. You just can’t make it up as you go along.”
The city can even tax tap dancing. But it has to pass an ordinance.
There is big money in lap dancing in Philadelphia. It’s the city of brotherly love. Sisterly, too.
Two strip clubs had been taxed $1.5 million for unpaid lap dancing taxes. Now they are off the hook, so to speak.
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Democratic Party Machine has been Rogue for decades.
Howdo you think they got jack-booted New Black Panther 'security guards' to ensure Obama victories?
They decided to stop electing constitutionally-mandated constables, defying the state constitution.
Judge obviously making it up as he goes along. Just because you can imagine taxing something — lap dances, karaoke, air we breathe — it still has to fall into one of the 2 classes of taxes allowed in the Constitution: direct or indirect.
If indirect, it has to be on a regulated activity, the tax is mandatory and uniform, but an activity people can choose not to partake in.
If direct, it has to be voluntary and subject to the rule of apportionment.