Is taxing strip clubs a fair move?

Question

On January 1, 2008 a new Texas law will add a five dollar per customer tax on strip clubs. The bulk of the money raised is to go to rape victim programs.

Strip Clubs are suing the state because it says it unfairly violates their first amendment rights and links their industry to sex crimes.

Does this tax unfairly target what some people view as an unpopular industry?

Answer 1

Let me start by saying I don't know the answer.

But my immediate line of thought is that all business should be taxed and I'm sure the strip club is taxed just the same as a book store or a convenience store. However, I wonder if a strip club impacts the community and its resources differently? It seems that a strip club might require more police involvement then say Barnes & Noble, but does it require more police involvement then your average sports bar? In my city, bars are a haven for drug activity and I know from those who have been employed at the city's strip clubs that those clubs are no different.

My ultimate opinion would come down to this: if there empirical data that shows that a strip club requires and uses more state/city resources than similar-sized businesses, then I can see a "strip club tax" as fair. If this is not the case and it is a tax motivated by people's wrong assumptions about strip clubs or it is simply motivated by morality and people thinking strip clubs are evil, therefore they want to impose the tax to curb business, then the tax is wrong.

But something that will be missed in this debate about tax is the underlying issue that strong links between the sex-for-pay industry (whether it be porn, prostitution, or strip clubs) and violence against women, women's body self image, and sexual dysfunction exist, and what role should our government play in striking a balance between my right to look at naked women and the right of the rest of the society to exist without fear of the sexual side effects of the sex industry - hence the money going to a rape crisis center. To me, this plan sounds a little bit like holding a bingo night to benefit a gambling addiction clinic.

The sex industry is not a simple nut to crack. I'd like to see it revolutionized so that far fewer women (and men!) are damaged by it. However, I don't think prohibition (through legislation or through economic coercion of taxation) is the answer.

Answer 2

I do know that where prostitution is legal, rapes are uncommon.

At the root of this law, though, is the states attempt to get more money from something people will pay money for. Since sex is a prime motivator, it's easy to tax, just like alcohol and tobacco.

I personally don't think it's fair. Instead of taxing strip clubs, they ought to tax churches. Here in Texas there seems to be one on every block.

Answer 3

Other businesses aren't taxed on a per-customer basis, so on that premise alone I would consider this a discriminatory tax.

Also, I'm not sure I'd use the word "unpopular" to describe any branch of the sex-for-sale industry. Its very popularity is what makes it vulnerable to the bluenose types.

Finally, there must be only about a thousand better ways to help rape victims.

Answer 4

Cigarette consumers get taxed all the time. Why not tax the strip club industry? Especially if the money goes to rape programs. Talk about a worthy cause!

Answer 5

I would have to know all the background information that the media isn't telling us....but at first glance, the law is unfair unless it groups porn video shops and the such with it. It sounds like a completely ridiculous law that could have repercussions down the line that do not benefit us.

Answer 6

No taxes period. Part of freedom is accpeting other peoples' freedoms.

Answer 7

Probably, but I don't visit those places so I don't care.