Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Pole Tax

Judge declares $5 'pole tax' unconstitutional

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


Check out the article here.

Interesting new tax idea in Texas, but it’s been shot down for the moment.

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.

I find it very humorous that witnesses for the strip clubs argued they would go out of business if they had to charge customers an additional $5. Most strip clubs, even a decade ago, charged $15 for a cup of soda. I don’t think men would be arguing over another $5. They would pay it. And it would be a clever way to raise awareness.

I wonder what else we could tax to help save the world?