Philadelphia to require bloggers to pay $300 fee

August 22, 2010

in blogging

I was surprised to read this tonight: “Philadelphia to require bloggers to pay $300 fee.”

More shocked to realize the city intends to require every blogger to pay the fee, no matter what their income is. For many bloggers throughout the city (and the world), blogging is a hobby, or a way to share something they are passionate about. Very few bloggers actually make money from their blogs.

Take my own blog for example. In the first year I owned this blog I made a whooping $800. You do the math, that’s like 12¢ an hour. While my blog has certainly grown, and I have surpassed that amount, and then some, this year I still don’t believe that everyone should be charged the same fee across the board.

Thankfully I don’t live in the city of Philadelphia, so it won’t effect me, but I hope for the sake of the Philadelphia area bloggers that this bill doesn’t pass.

I have already been contacted by a firm on behalf of the city to investigate whether I owe this tax.

It seems as blogging grows, and changes, so does the need to regulate it in some way shape or form. The problem with regulation, whether we’re talking about the FTC guidelines, or tax law is that the medium is changing so rapidly it will be hard for legislation to keep up.

For more info see the City Paper article.

Also posted a brief version on my Posterous account where I often post snippets, news and links.

Kelly

© 2010, Whalen Media LLC. All rights reserved. To repost or publish, please email Kelly.

About Kelly


Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

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Tagged as: blogging, Philadelphia, taxes

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  • Anonymous

    I have to admit that I do not have a problem with the city requiring this fee from bloggers. If your blog makes money, then it’s a business and should be charged the registration fee. If a blogger wants to be seen a just a person writing their thoughts, then post ads or sign up as affiliates.

  • http://www.fashionablyorganized.com Candice

    Hey I just wanted to share my answer to another discussion on this topic. I’m just going to copy and paste, but I wanted you to know it’s just dumb.
    “I am operating my blog as a business, b/c I have a store and sell advertising. Therefore everything to do with my blog I keep the receipts for tax purposes. I would pay the fee and again use it as a tax deduction which you can do. However, I wonder this: if I already paid for a DBA isn’t that double dipping? I did get a DBA for my blog, and paid the fees, so why do I have to pay for more? I guess one could say it’s a business license.
    Now as for the blogs that do none of the above I feel the fee is absolutely out of line. I feel that infringes on this country’s Constitution – Amendment 1. We do NOT have to pay for freedom of speech ever. Why should we be required to pay the city to have that freedom on-line. There have been MANY court cases in this country that have said things said on-line are protected by freedom of speech. There have been many instances where a crime is committed b/c they saw it on-line and the prosection had to prove that the act was done because of what was seen on the net, and believe me that’s not easy [because of the protection by the 1st Amendment]. My question here is should all bloggers all over the country have that freedom taxed? I feel this is a gross injustice. (Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, so I may have a scewed view as a regular Joe.)
    Nevertheless let’s also talk about why it has to be the physical location of the writer. How many of us pay for domain hosting in who knows where? Shouldn’t it based on the location of the host as apposed to the writer? ”
    All of it makes me feel like when our economy goes to shiznit we should be more tolerant and keep in mind most bloggers don’t have an extra $300. Let me tell you I do not make close to that amount yet and the $300 would be a huge imposition on me and my family.
    I do not reside in Philadelphia but many of my blog friends do and this situation sucks.”

  • Anonymous

    Bloggers have social security numbers and should be filing tax returns showing any blog income and their expenses. Philly has a city tax in place so it will be very easy for the city to cross check that those with blog income have paid for a license. Bloggers that interact with sponsors and provide promotion for products are in business and always wanted to be taken seriously. For some it is very profitable.

  • http://twitter.com/PureNaturalDiva purenaturaldiva

    And how exactly are they going to determine who is a Philly blogger…. the blog exists in cyberspace… wouldn’t you just relocate your address with such a tax in place?

  • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

    Diane, no problem.

    Unfortunately even though it hasn’t passed they are already contacting bloggers.

  • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

    I’m not sure either-seems the amount of hours they would have to put in to finding bloggers would be better spent elsewhere.

  • http://www.thecentsiblelife.com/ Kelly Whalen

    William, I agree. I believe they are targeting bloggers who reported income. The problem with that of course is that earning $10 does not make a business.

  • http://www.williamamanning.com William A Manning

    This is an infringement on freedom of speech. Most bloggers don’t make money off of their opinions. Even if they do, its not going to cover the cost of a “fee” to have the “privilege” of putting their thought in a public forum.

  • http://www.myjourneytomillions.com Evan@MyJourneytoMillions

    I am not sure how they would enforce it…You’d have to figure out the location of an anonymous blogger? Philly has A LOT of problems they should worry about something bigger

  • Anonymous

    Hope Mike Bloomberg, NYC mayor, hasn’t got wind of this tidbit.

  • http://twitter.com/knittingzeal Diane

    Wow, that is rotten! I’ve been blogging for over 6 years and only recently began running one ad. I have made less than $100 ever on my blog in ad sales. I can’t imagine that this bill will pass. The city has much bigger things to worry about than what anyone blogs about! Thanks for the info.

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