Assembly Bill 2914, which would have imposed a 25 percent excise tax on adult products and productions, has died in committee.
The outrageous tax burden would have applied to all businesses that either sell or produce sexually explicit shows, movies, books and magazines — as well as websites.
Proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Charles Calderon, the tax was intended to offset the harms that opponents claim the industry creates, including "numerous health, safety and societal problems, including reducing property values in affected neighborhoods and encouraging unsafe sex and aggressive attitudes toward women."
According to Diane Duke, Executive Director of FSC, who attended one of the bill’s hearings, the people Calderon got to testify were very inflammatory.
"[They] were telling lies about the industry; that people were committing suicide and that drugs were rampant on the set," Duke said. "Of course, we had people from the set there to testify that [those things] are not happening."
Some opponents opposed the bill on the belief that the government shouldn’t be involved in people’s sex lives; some saw it as a violation of free-speech rights as it singled out the adult industry, which could have been forced to leave the state; while others saw it as a simple case of the Democrat’s trying to pile more taxes on legitimate business owners.
While Calderon claimed that his bill didn’t cast judgment on adult content but was only targeting his claimed "negative financial impacts" of adult entertainment and thus would survive court challenges, his ruse was transparent; despite the bill’s wording that the tax was "not intended as a prohibition of legally protected forms of expression."
Calderon hoped that AB 2914 would raise $260 million annually to offset the notoriously poor budgetary discipline exercised by the state’s legislature; using the "sin tax" revenues to replace other tax-based revenues used for some health and public safety programs.
🙂 😀 😛 Let’s have a bukkaki party on Shelley Lubben’s face!!!
Shelley tried to report that the bill had actually passed on her MySpace Blog, despite the coverage on Xbiz, AdultFYI an even mainstream publications like the Sacramento Bee:
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1143616.html
And even after seeing the evidence, she STILL insists the bill passed:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=42789016&blogID=422422250
How anyone can give an iota of credence to this delusional idiot is beyond me, but at least one well known porn blogger reported Shelley’s claims as gospel without bothering to check:
http://pornstarbabylon.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/adult-entertainment-tax-bill/
And despite numerous people pointing out her error, Little Miss Babylon STILL has that story up.
I miss the Weekly World News. It was far more believable.
Does anybody in the adult industry actually believe that the industry will “move” out of california,especially to Nevada. In Nevada the sex workers are government regulated and they require condoms for all “workers” who engage in ANY type of sexual contact. I even saw on one of theses sites that the industry would move south of the border. Does anyone believe the Mexican government and the Fererales would permit this industry to just walk in and set up shop. That is delusional. The state of Texas? Who in their right mind thinks the state of Texas would allow this industry to operate the way it does here in california if they all moved to Texas.
As far as Florida goes, they are not covered by the Freeman decision, and dont they have a guy named Bush as their governor? Wasnt that where they tried Max?
(NL- Bush is no longer Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist is)
The porn industry ‘threat’ of moving is just that, an empty threat.
And anyone who thinks democrats are any more friendly to porn than the republicans can look above at who voted for and against this legislation. Funny how the adult industry press isnt talking about how the requplicans saved them on this issue.
As far as credibility goes, I think the World Weekly News is about one step above the porn industry. After all, the porn industry is one big happy family, with no disease, drug abuse, rip-off agents,rip-off producers and distibutors. And this industry ALWAYS takes care of those who get HIV, torn rectums. overdoses etc….(insert sarcasm). CREDIBILITY indeed.
“They were telling lies about the industry;that people were commiting suicide and that drugs were rampant on the set. Of course, we had people from the set there to testify that (those things) are NOT happening..”
NOW WHO IS BEING DISHONEST?
The industry is locked in Cali, thats it.
And the tax hikers know that.
They just came with a ill thought, over board, hare brained proposal.
Moving South, unless is Brazil is not realistic. The backslash would be huge.
And there is a backslash going on in Florida. Even Miami DA has said in Spanish media that he wants to clean Miami of porn. I guess he is just waiting to see what happens in Tampa.
Nevada could a good choice but you will have to summit to regulation.
Hey Rics,
I think we pretty much agree on this subject. I just think there is NO place that would allow this industry to come in and set up shop and do buissness the way they do in California. Do you think the Brazilians would allow the U.S. companies to come and set up shop PERMANATELY in Brazil? \\ I just dont see any large scale exodus from California anytime soon.
Custard Pie, both houses of California’s legislature are controlled by the Democrats.