I was reading an interesting article about how states have come up with new ways to raise revenue. States and local governments are trying new methods to plug budget shortfalls. One of these methods is requiring bloggers to apply for a license from their local state in order to host a blog. Philadelphia is the first city to require bloggers to pay for a “business privilege license.”
Some states are requiring bloggers to pay fees as high as $300 for the right to write. According to the Washington Post, some states are charging bloggers $50 annual fee. Any blogger that is running ads on their site may be required to pay this fee.
This fee seems ludicrous considering that most bloggers are not able to monetize their blogs. Why should states force bloggers to pay money for something that may not generate any income? It is very difficult to try and gain a consistent revenue stream from blogging. A blogger can run ads for an entire year and not earn $50 in income. It takes hard work, dedication, and the payoff may not come for years in the future.
Hopefully the taxing of bloggers will not catch on nationwide. But states looking for additional revenue sources may try a similar approach.
What do you think about states requiring bloggers to pay a fee for the right to blog?
They are adults running a business. If a business license is required for a business, then they should acquire one.
The license isn’t, as you stated, “for the right to write”; it’s for the right to charge money for a service.
So unless you are for the deregulation of businesses, then you should be for this.
Robert,
I just think that they should see if a blog is profitable before charging fees to the owner.
The Majority of Blogs start out to share your viewpoint & ideas with others. Blogs aren’t always started out as businesses. They can lead into businesses. A business license is a tax and I for one think that we already have enough taxes, which are now a means of moving wealth from the middle and lower class to the upper classes-it is called a Bailout. If governments on all levels cannot balance their budgets they should go Bankrupt which they are doing and the Real Losers are the tax payers. The function of government is to protect the naturally endowed rights of the individual. Today our system is inverted. I do believe in deregulation instead of corporations buying laws in their favor, which in my eyes is criminal. Both corporation and lawmaker should charged with unfair competition and if found guilty go to jail and/or fined hugely I might add. Starting a business is difficult and expensive enough, why burden it with more taxes before it even has made a profit.
That was my point exactly. Don’t charge a business until it is profitable. This will discourage many people from even trying endeavors like this. If a business makes a profit then you can discuss charging the business a fee.