Strip
Tax Unconstitutional
A Nevada bill that would impose a 10 percent tax on strip club
dancing will be struck down in court if lawmakers pass it, an
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer said. "You can not have
a special tax aimed at First Amendment activity based on content,"
said Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of the ACLU of Nevada.
"Adult
entertainment, which is protected by the First Amendment, is
being targeted to bear the burden of taxes where other businesses
are not," Lichtenstein said, referring to the bill. "To single
out a particular business based on content and tax it with a
special tax is unconstitutional."
Lichtenstein
testified on against the bill, which is under review by the
state Senate's taxation committee. The committee has until Friday
to approve the bill, which Lichtenstein said does not stand
a chance if subjected to a judicial review. "If it gets passed,
it will be challenged and the courts will throw it out," he
predicted, noting that stripping is constitutionally protected
free expression.
The
Holistic Wisdom Corporation