August 12, 2008 | The Biz

No 'sin tax' in California

The 25 percent excise tax on adult products and productions in California has died in committee, meaning state residents will not be paying a hefty increase on their sexually explicit movies, books and (believe it or not) websites.

The tax was proposed by Democratic Assemblyman Charles Calderon as an effort to address the "numerous health, safety and societal problems, including reducing property values in affected neighborhoods and encouraging unsafe sex and aggressive attitudes toward women."

Diane Duke, Executive Director of Free Speech Coalition, was appalled by the hearings surrounding Calderon's initiative. "[They] were telling lies about the industry; that people were committing suicide and that drugs were rampant on the set," Duke said. "Of course, we had people from the set there to testify that [those things] are not happening."

Calderon denied he was attacking the industry per se arguing his efforts were "not intended as a prohibition of legally protected forms of expression," but was more about the "negative financial impacts" of adult entertainment. (And of course had nothing to do with the estimated $260 million the tax would raise annually!)

Why can't politicians just leave us to jack-off in peace?