Strip tax nixed: lap dance levies.

• Author: Brown, Elizabeth Nolan
• Position: Citings - Brief article

Philadelphia has given up for now on its attempt to impose a tax on lap dances. Philly strip clubs had challenged the legality of such levies after being surprised by major tax bills from the city Revenue Department last year.

One club, Delilah's, was sent a bill for more than $630,000 in back taxes, interest, and penalties. Yet the City Council never approved a tax on lap dances, and attorneys for the clubs insisted that the administration did not have the authority to create such a tax unilaterally. In July, Common Pleas Court Judge Ellen Ceisler agreed, saying that the administration did not...