BrianGarst.com

This is a story any blogger should find outrageous:

For the past three years, Marilyn Bess has operated MS Philly Organic, a small, low-traffic blog that features occasional posts about green living, out of her Manayunk home. Between her blog and infrequent contributions to ehow.com, over the last few years she says she’s made about $50. To Bess, her website is a hobby. To the city of Philadelphia, it’s a potential moneymaker, and the city wants its cut.

In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.

“The real kick in the pants is that I don’t even have a full-time job, so for the city to tell me to pony up $300 for a business privilege license, pay wage tax, business privilege tax, net profits tax on a handful of money is outrageous,” Bess says.

This story doesn’t include the angle of politicians using these tools to silence opponents, but that potential is clearly there, as well.  What we have here is simply government greed.

I’ve  never been a fan of licensing laws, and will continue to proudly flaunt my status as an unlicensed blogger. This issue goes beyond just blogging, however. Licensing laws of all kinds are antithetical to the American spirit.  Owning a business is not a privilege granted by government, and should never be treated as such.  If I found myself living in the jurisdiction of any local government that so aggressive claimed otherwise, I’d pack up and move.  Flee these tyrannical jurisdictions as soon as possible, and then we’ll see what happens to their tax revenues.

licensing laws Philadelphia