Philadelphia Demanding Business License For Bloggers Who Bring In A Bit Of Cash
from the well-isn't-that-nice dept
A whole bunch of you have been sending over this story about how the city of Philadelphia, in its desperate need for cash, is starting to demand that hobby bloggers get a business license if they've made any revenue at all. Not if they've made profit, but revenue. So, any blog that has Google ads and brings in a couple pennies could be required to get a business license. To make matters worse, the city has been relying on the fact that some of these bloggers are honest and reported the tiny bit of revenue they made, in order to send them demand letters that they go register for a business license. Nice way to convince people (a) not to blog and (b) not to bother with Philly. It really is amazing how confused various governments are in an internet age where it's easy for lots of people to make little bits of money on the side. They simply can't figure out that such things are not a "business." We've seen the same thing in the past with various local governments demanding that folks selling on eBay need to get an auctioneer's license. And then some people wonder why citizens are fed up with their government representatives?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: blogging, business license, philadelphia
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On behalf of the entire blogosphere inside and outside of your city, I'd like to extend my deepest condolences on the utter public relations rape you are about to endure.
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Ronald Reagan
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.
Ronald Reagan
Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no responsibility at the other.
Ronald Reagan
I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
Ronald Reagan
It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.
Ronald Reagan
Man is not free unless government is limited.
Ronald Reagan
No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!
Ronald Reagan
No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.
Ronald Reagan
One way to make sure crime doesn't pay would be to let the government run it.
Ronald Reagan
He said all those things and still managed to F. up, still those words sound true today and that is what it counts, he was a lying bastard but it doesn't make those statements untrue.
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Re:
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Re: Re: Re: Reagan
> the public consciousness.
At least they waited until he died to deify him. The Left canonized Obama before he even won the election.
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Good thing that you seams to be very edumacated.
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Are you sure it failed him?
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Sew Sew.
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Remember he was an actor and thus his profession was lying. Also I suspect most of those lines were written by his scriptwriters.
I actually think that he was (personally) a decent enough person - unfortunately he was caught up in a rightwing milieu that he wasn't smart enough to see through. On the few occasions when he did something on his own his instincts seem to have been good. He very nearly fixed relations with the USSR (the walk in the woods) before his horrified minders pulled him back.
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Re: Ronald Reagan
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Re:
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Ronald Reagan
The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.
Ronald Reagan
Today, if you invent a better mousetrap, the government comes along with a better mouse.
Ronald Reagan
Trust, but verify.
Ronald Reagan
When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.
Ronald Reagan
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Confused
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A caution for those who say "I've nothing to hide" .
The tiniest bit of information you tell gov't *will* be used against you, for taxes if not criminal. They pay people to sit around and think up new ways to "eat out our substance".
Also fits with current moves to license blogs and journalists.
You obliquely point up how pernicious Google is. From my casual looking, Google has code in about half of blogs, and presumably pays something. -- So be sure to declare it even if pennies, because won't be long before IRS has that info, if doesn't already, and use that as leverage...
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what jerks
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You mean like the city of Bell?
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Fee-dom
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The Gipper
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Re: The Gipper
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Tip of the iceberg
-Philadelphia born, raised and disgusted.
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