Should Bloggers Be Taxed?

Is blogging a hobby or a potentially taxable business? The "city of brotherly love," as part of an all-out effort to enforce its "Business Privilege Tax," has ruled on the matter. It's not the news bloggers want to hear.

In Philadelphia, if a blogger is trying to make a profit on their blog by selling goods or services, it is considered a business. As such, they are required to purchase a business license at a cost of $50 per year or at a one-time charge of $300. They must also file a Business Privilege Tax Return. Never mind that the blog makes almost zilch. It's the intent to make money that's the determining factor.

When the Philadelphia City Paper broke the story in mid-August, word is that Philly bloggers went nuts. Should even Auntie be taxed for her scrapbooking blog? If she makes even a few dollars from it, yes.

Philly city council members Bill Green and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez introduced a proposal that would that would reform the current Business Privilege Tax so that businesses wouldn't have to pay taxes on their first $100,000 in profits. If passed, the revised law should make bloggers and a lot of other struggling business owners pretty happy. If it doesn't, Philly bloggers will have to decide whether to 1) bite the bullet and pay up, 2) try to get away with it at the risk of being fined, or 3) move outside the city.

What's the relevance of this issue to Chicagoans? You know where I'm headed. The City Council, in its desperate effort to raise more revenue, may decide a blogger tax is a good thing. What do YOU think?

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Chris Ruys is founder and president of Chris Ruys Communications, Inc., a marketing/public relations firm that specializes in high visibility campaigns using both traditional and social media strategies. She invites you along on her journey to become a social media master in “Getting Social.”