New York is another state facing a deficit. New York Governor David Paterson proposed 88 new taxes to fill a $15 billion budget deficit. One of those taxes is on downloading digital entertainment services. Sure, music downloads were the obvious target, but there’s an industry that is even more successful: porn.
Yes, a New York based pornography business (such as some of the stores near Times Square) will be impacted by this new tax. “The last thing any of us need is an additional tax,” said Steven Hirsch to the New York Daily News. Republicans in the New York Legislature oppose the tax.
The reason they state for opposing it isn’t to stop tax increases; rather, they don’t want to legitimize the pornography industry. I’d like to see Republicans look for smaller government. Or Democrats. New York Governor Paterson had said that he was for spending cuts. As the Daily News said, “[Paterson’s] spokesman said the governor’s new comments did not represent a shift in his position.” Yeah, right.