Texas Clubs Oppose $5 Per Patron Tax
Lawyers representing a group of Texas strip clubs have gone to court to ask a judge to block a state mandated $5 cover charge tax at strip clubs scheduled to go into effect at the start of the new year.
State legislators have targeted strip clubs to help pay for more welfare benefits. The tax, or surcharge as they call it, is expected to raise $40 million each year. (Doing simple math indicates that eight million patrons are expected to visit strip clubs in Texas each year—quite a lot.) About half of the money expected to be raised is supposed to be directed toward helping victims of sexual assault while the other half is planned to be used on health assistance for poor Texas residents without health insurance.
Clubs are arguing that the tax violates free speech provisions by unconstitutionally targeting a protected form of expression. This $5 per patron tax isn’t required by law to be passed on to customers. However, this tax applies to no other business establishments or nightclubs other than those that feature nude or topless dancing.
One must wonder why the burden to pay for health insurance for low-income people and sexual assault services must fall on the backs of law-abiding strip club patrons.