NASHVILLE, TN — Everybody hates paying taxes, and sales taxes seem to really get under people’s emotional fingernails. While some states don’t levy a sales tax on groceries, Tennessee does. A new proposal by state Representative Stacey Campfield promises to eliminate the tax on grocer goods — by replacing it with a tax on pornography.It says quite a bit about the interest of Tennessee residents in blue movies and it may be unconstitutional, at least that’s what Governor Phil Bredesen and a few others think.
As is so often the case, this tax is starting small but hinting at the possibility of expansion. According to Campfield, the tax will apply to any sexually oriented material product that can’t be sold to a person under the age of 18. This means videos with an X rating, adult books, magazines, and sex toys. He admits to “exploring” whether or not he can expand his tax to include “lap dancing and that sort of thing.”
Given that the current sales tax on grocery food is six-percent and Campfield’s stated goal is to replace the $450 million per year revenues it has brought to the state coffers and ultimately repeal the food tax, it’s a good bet that the sin tax will be at least that amount. Campfield says he’s waiting to hear back from research experts about how much porn is sold in the state before he proposes a percentage. If statements in the Knox News are any indication, Campfield is confident the numbers will give him plenty of dollars to scoop into the state treasury. “The porn industry is probably much more powerful and much more profitable than most people realize in Tennessee,” the paper quotes him as saying.
State taxation expert Dr. Stan Chervin isn’t sure Campfield knows what he’s talking about. He insists that there is “no way” such a tax would raise enough money to repeal the food tax, something that was attempted in the last legislative session by targeting cigarette sales. “What’s he going to do,” the doctor asks, “Charge $2 million on a Playboy magazine?
Neither Gov. Bredesen, nor Dr. Chervin, nor the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee think the proposal passes constitutional muster, either. Bredesen says he’s willing to talk to Campfield about his idea, but encourages the Senator to “take a quick look at the Constitution before he comes by the office,” adding that he’d love to see if it would be possible to “put a tax on articles that are critical of the governor.”
Currently, Utah is the only state with a similar tax. It’s “sexually explicit business and escort services tax” was enacted in 2004 at a 10-percent rate, but has collected no revenue to date due to court challenges.
