UPDATED: Bloggers rejoice! According to WHYY, this story which appears in this week's City Paper is false. In fact, according to the radio report that aired Tuesday, the WHYY could not find one blogger who received this $300 blogging bill.
The report from Dave Davies, senior staff writer at the Daily News states that the blogger known as Marilyn Bess did recieve a $300 bill but in fact the bill never mentioned the word blogging. For more on this story, read the brief on WHYY.org.
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Posted Aug. 24, 2010
Today, fellow Montgomery Media blogger Kevin McGuire tweeted an interesting story from EmergingCorruption.com focusing on a rumor that Philadelphia may tax bloggers who reside in the city up to $300 for their "money making business."
The site referenced a story on City Paper's website about a Manayunk blogger named Marilyn Bess whose green living blog, plus contributions to ehow.com, made her approximately $50 over the past few years.
Here's the real kicker.
“In May, the city sent Bess a letter demanding that she pay $300, the price of a business privilege license.” - City Paper
Beyond the $300 payment owed for the license, the city is also apparently taxing money earned from blogging. The article goes on to cite a number of Philly-local bloggers who have also received letters in the mail notifying them of the license charge.
A friend of mine recently started her own business in New Jersey and had to pay approximately $425 for the privilege. So what does this mean for bloggers in the future? Better yet, what does this mean for blogging hosts like Blogger and Wordpress. Could Philadelphia’s dept crisis mean the beginning of the end for free blogging services? Leave a comment and let me us know what you think.
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