Saturday, June 18, 2011

New York Court Says Strip Clubs Lap Dances Are Taxable



     A New York court says that a lap dance performed in a non-alcoholic strip bar is taxable. Four Appellate Division justices agree with a decision by a state tax appeals commission that says dances onstage or in private rooms at a suburban Albany juice bar do not qualify for tax exception as "dramatic or musical arts performances". Another reason for this action is because the dancers are not even required any dance training. The club called Nite Moves owes the state $125,000 for lap dances and admission fees. 
     I think that lap dancing should be considered as an "arts performance" by it's definition which is: 
In artperformance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or via media; the performer can be present or absent. It can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer's body, or presence in a medium, and a relationship between performer and audience. Performance art can happen anywhere, in any venue or setting and for any length of time. The actions of an individual or a group at a particular place and in a particular time constitute the work. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performance_art
     The court mentioned that the lap dancers doesn't even need training for these, but it is "unscripted" and "randomly orchestrated" with audience participation. If we dissect the subjects- the performers, the performance, and the venue, you would think that it is the same as any typical music, dance and drama presentation that we see everywhere. The only difference is men put dollar bills in the performers underwear. You can't do this in an opera or a ballet show. You can't go to the stage and pull the ballerina's tutu and slip a dollar bill in there and besides it's very hard to do that while she's doing the twirl. Maybe if a ballet dancer accidentally fall on an audience lap and do her spin they will be taxed too. what do you think?
     

     
     

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