Strip Clubs Challenge Mayor Nutter’s Tax Collection Efforts

KYW Newsradio reports the city’s strip clubs go to court this week to challenge Mayor Nutter’s plan to collect an “amusement tax” on individual lap dances. Philadelphia uber-lawyer George Bochetto is representing the clubs. He “argues that the amusement tax is already imposed on the cover charge to get in the clubs.”

“It does not apply to activities once you’re already in a place of amusement,” Bochetto says, “and have already paid a cover charge and an amusement tax on the cover charge.”

And Bochetto says this could set a dangerous precedent:

“If you can impose a tax on a lap dance,” he says, “you can impose a tax on any activity once you are in a place of amusement.”

Anybody else weirded out by calling lap dances an “amusement?” It doesn’t quite fit. Can we come up with something else? Boner Tariff? Booty Duty? Something involving a play on Mayor Nutter’s name? (You were thinking it too.) Anything but “amusement,” which makes it sound like everybody’s gone to Delilah’s to read old Dave Barry columns.