Licensing fees and taxes for bloggers

Hat tip r.j.sigmund for finding this leading to the Philadelphia City Paper:

Philadelphia Demands License Fee and Taxes from Bloggers

Philadelphia bloggers were dispatched letters informing them that they owe $300 for a [lifetime] privilege license [or $50 per year for an annual license], plus taxes on any profits they made. Even if, as with Sean Barry, that profit is $11 over two years.[…] Even though small-time bloggers aren’t exactly raking in the dough, the city requires privilege licenses for any business engaged in any “activity for profit,” says tax attorney Michael Mandale of Center City law firm Mandale Kaufmann. This applies “whether or not they earned a profit during the preceding year,” he adds.

Now a blog has to have an ‘owner’, and I assume the ‘owner’ is designated a location based on office (or residence), and that some level (state of federal) of tax collection is providing the information about profits.

Now we know that in 2003 many econoblogs were simply hobbies and the best were love affairs but hardly businesses, and that now in 2010 a whole bunch have been to the Whitehouse several times, and some of our own Bears to Treasury offices or other national organizations, universities, and some work in private companies mesaured in billions of dollars. Then again some of us don’t.

But on bad days I feel more like this young lady. One reader innocently accused us of having staff/interns that waylaid comments…how could he know there were plans for a part time staff in 2017? A backhanded compliment I believe, in that we are all volunteer researchers and authors.

I want to take this opportunity to let front page authors know I will shoulder this burden of filing forms, even if we make a profit from the ads (revenue minus expenses and no payroll, but my need for a new laptop battery and the present for Mike’s baby may shatter that dream this year).

Anyway, this is my goofy way to say thanks for value freely given and making this bunch of amateur writers well worth any efforts I add to keep the writing published. Thanks..it is an honor.