Unfair Texas Strip Club Tax

Here is an article entitled “Texas Slaps ‘Pole” Tax On Strip Joints” that comes from KSAT in San Antonio.

In what some have dubbed the “pole tax,” the Lone Star State will require its 150 or so strip clubs to collect a $5-per-customer levy, with most of the proceeds going to help rape victims. The tax goes into effect on New Year’s Day.

First off, that has to be a typo, surely there are more than 150 strip clubs in Texas.

That aside, this is an excellent example of the worst type of deceitful tax.

Here’s how it works. Start with some type of activity that a lot of people find distasteful; like stripping. It’s legal and people will engage in it and it’s going to generate revenue. Whether you like it or not.

Next, you find an issue, a cause, that nobody in their right mind can find fault with. Like helping rape victims. What kind of person would say; “I’m am against helping rape victims”?

So, you have a lawful, money generating and somewhat unpopular activity and a noble cause.

Where is the deceit?

Look at they way that money changes hands in a strip club. You have three parties involved.

First, the consumer. The guy off the street with a pocket full of dollar bills that wants to ogle women and have a few drinks.

Next, the club owner who is garnering income from the sale of drinks and, usually, a cover charge.

Last, you have the dancer who makes, for practical purposes, all of her money from tips.

Under this tax, the consumer will, in theory, pay $5.00 up front, every time he walks into his favorite strip club. Is this going to stop the guy from going? Probably not.

The club owner is just going to tack an extra five dollars on to the cover charge or raise the price of drinks.

By the time the consumer gets around to watching dancers, he is sitting there with five less dollars in his pocket.

The dancer is the only party of the three that is paying any tax here.

The dancer is paying five dollars in tax for every customer.

So, just within the atmosphere of the strip club it’s an unfair tax.

But, beyond that, it’s a case of singling out a particular industry. The implication is, that strip clubs are responsible for the crime of rape. Further, that strippers are responsible for rape because they are the ones being taxed.

You can’t prove that, because rape occurs in places where there are no strip clubs. Rape existed before there were strip clubs.

You can surmise but you can’t prove.

You can’t prove but you can justify.

You can try to solve a valid problem by trying to tax an “industry” and justify the tax because that industry is unpopular to some. But, in the end all you accomplish is you are taxing the workers at the lowest rung of the ladder in the industry.