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Friday, October 2, 2009

Arts Tax Opponents Hopeful

Opponents of a proposed arts tax in the state budget were hopeful today, after Democrats in the state House of Representatives yesterday cut the arts tax from the deal, instead backing taxes on cigars, smokeless tobacco, casino table games and natural gas drilling.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are winning," said Robert Weaver, an organizer of today's City Hall rally against the tax. "We are winning but we have not won yet. We must encourgage legislators to keep the tax off the table."

Arts groups have raged against the proposed tax, part of a bipartisan budget deal announced two weeks ago. It would add 6 percent to the price of admission to performing arts events, museums, historical sites, zoos and parks in most of the state and more in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

After Democrats in the state house removed the tax from the budget, Republicans in Harrisburg warned that the whole deal could sour. State Sen. Larry Farnese, who attended the rally today, said he thought other revenue streams should be considered.

"Talk about smokeless tobacco to your legislator," Farnese told the crowd of about 100 arts professionals and supporters gathered outside City Hall. "I think it's asinine that we're not looking at this because of some political BS in Harrisburg."

Farnese said he will continue to push against the tax, although he would not say that he'd definitely vote against it.
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 1:13 PM  Permalink | 6 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:07 PM, 10/02/2009
    Arts tax? Explain. What or who is to be taxed patrons, tickets, artists, shows, movies, museums, art galleries? Those clowns in Harrisburg really do want to kill incentive with taxing natural gas drilling. That's it drive business from the State. Eventually the only tax base left will be government employees. What a joke that'll be. Demanding raises to cover their increased taxes and the democraps taxing to pay for the pay raises.
    — junethe4th
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:08 PM, 10/02/2009
    Is demanding a fair share of the profits from gas drilling too much to ask? Do we need to tax the arts out of existence in order to accomodate the corporations driling for gas? This is not a political issue. It's an issue of common sense.
    — DonQ
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:38 PM, 10/02/2009
    Is that what arts and culture means to you? Looking at a painting or listening to a flute? Why don't you move to the Galapagos islands? I imagine that there's no arts and culture there.
    — DonQ
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:12 PM, 10/02/2009
    Kelprod1 Its fools like you that long for tax free cancer, tax free Eagles/ Phillies/ Flyers games, tax free movies (giving the kid selling popcorn and tearing your ticket $7.75/ hour so that Regal Cinemas (owner of UA) with Home Office in Knoxville, TN, AMC (owner of Lowes) Home Office in Olathe, KS, or Ritz Theaters Home Office in Elizabeth, NJ can be supported, along with the economies of L.A. and New York, is much better than...) Oh say the 100s upwards of thousands of jobs lost in Philly due to us taxing out the Production companies that shoot here and need carpenters, electrician, actors/actresses, extras, so they take their movies out of state (oh not like M. Night Shamalan has ever shot out of state, oh right he got taxed out) (Not to mention what they did for LOCAL hotels or restaurant industries, your right, those people didnt need to eat, sleep, or shop) Or the thousands of OUR jobs (singing, dancing, painting, sculpting, educating, inspiring, designing, building, wiring, directing, choreographing, playing, curating, researching (and protecting species), and the list goes on) that our already minimalist (at best) salaries for more work than you will ever know, to be taxed out of existence. Oh your right, the typical family that attends arts and culture events doesn't have a 93% chance of being either middle class , or of a lower income bracket. You are sooo right. Its just us CRAZY left wing loons, that happen to pull our heads out of our a**es every once in a while to actually think about the cause and effect of things like the lives that this bill will affect. God for bid you have to pay a tax to go to see the eagles, with your can of snuff, after sending your other money out of state to chain movie theaters. God forbid you pay a tax on that stuff, than you would have less money to spend on your 30 of keystone light. Yeah we love to "spend other peoples $", contribute nothing, and dont want to "pay" Galapagos sounds good. PA will be better w/o you!
    — Genius


6 comments
About The Philly Clout Team
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Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics ­– which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans.
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Catherine Lucey
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