Are you kidding me? How many other things are there to tax out there? All your going to do is have more people downloading porn at home instead of purchasing it. In the end this could cause more business to fail.

I think that the people in that industry could kick some money down, But I do think that thats a great Idea. We need to make some extra somehow to help the economy even if it is "SINFUL"
Besideds if you are not buying it why worry? Its charging the people who do contribute to Hugh Heffner, Ron Jeremy, and all the others out there that produce these items.

So yeah Im happy.

Are you kidding me? How many other things are there to tax out there? All your going to do is have more people downloading porn at home instead of purchasing it. In the end this could cause more business to fail.

I would like to know why people who smoke, drink, or look at porn, seem to be the only ones who have to pay all these taxes. How about taxing everything across the board. I mean why should a single smoker have to pay taxes for someone else's child to have health care and so on? This is boardering on ridiculous. I say enough is enough!

Porn is as much an entertainment as movies, concerts, plays, ballet, opera, etc. Creating a consumer tax on pornographic material will more than likely slow sales of magazines and movies, and turn the main focus to online 'free' downloads. All entertainment outlets are helping to stimulate the economy. No matter how much money a person has in the bank, the American people will spend money to be entertained. An extra tax will only act as a deterrent for purchasing such entertainment. There has to be a more beneficial tax to place on the American people.

Are you joking? Why choose porn? There are so many ways to generate capital for this state, more importantly we should stop wasting money, example the MILLIONS of dollars our state government has wasted on the monorail plans and the viaduct plans with NO result! Maybe some better leadership or accountability is in order. Free spending then make the consumers pay for the mistakes....hmm I personally find myself tired of this system. Increased minimum wage, increased taxes, fewer jobs, sounds like a downward spiral to me! How about we increase incentives for spending to increase jobs which increases spending and would through current taxation help solve the deficient that our current government body has created!

Extra tax for porn?.....Who came up with that idea? ya, that should fix everything....

I love the idea! Better to tax all our vices and remind us that we should think twice or pay the price. I don't like the term "Sin tax" as we all have vices and this helps to limit those.

Also as a female I am not crazy about porn in general. It is limiting our youth from experiencing sex as the spiritual union it can be and making it into entertainment as well as depersonalizing it.

Try tantric sex instead. A much fuller experience.

Thank GOD someone is going after this market. It’s about time.
This is an untapped market and it will bring in thousands for the state to take care of our roads, and other needed projects.

We are basically talking about people's jobs here. A pornographic magazine is already well over $10 a copy as is. Adding an astronomical tax to these items will more than likely have a negative effect on sales. This effect will eventually have a negative effect on everybody including vendors, producers, photographers, performers, etc... Whatever judgements may be made about their ways of life, these people rely on the pornography industry to pay their bills. I see no sense in hurting one group or region for the state to gain profits. These are woeful economic times already without us destroying people's careers!

Taxing an industry that is already being badly damaged by this terrible economy is just going to close a few more businesses putting more printers, designers, writers, editors, photographers, lighting specialists, cartoonists, ad reps, as well as models out of work. You might as well tax newspapers and put the nail in their coffin as well. Of course this law will never pass the courts - you can't tax one form of free speech and not another. Thanks for wasting tax dollars writing this up and spending time on it.

If we tax these. Why not tax churches ?
Fairs, Fair

What a coincidence! I was just commenting to my husband how this would be a GREAT way to stifle this industry and bring in some income. This industry has been the thorn in the sides of many broken marriages and homes....Like the NIKE Commercial says "Just Do It"!!!!!

Why not Tax people that go to Church.there the one who want this tax increase anyway.

Are you serious? Listening to some of your comments and reasoning for the taxes is completely outrageous. If you think porn is ruining your marriage, look at yourself instead of putting blame on porn. Just face it, it wasn't meant to be. Next thing they are gonna tax is "HOT" models and actors because I am sure any of your spouses would leave you to spend one week with these people. Off my rant.
Taxes on these "sinful" products that are known to Kill people makes sense but putting extra taxes on entertainment is going way too far. How many class action lawsuits are against the porn industry because of death and permanent injury? The heavy taxes on Cigarettes and alcohol help to offset the money needed to care for those destroyed by these "Sins". Increasing taxes on porn is just another way the fundamentalist right is trying to control the people. Tax breaks for churches vs increased taxes for Porn. Hmmmm. Seems the catholic church has destroyed many lives, take away their tax breaks and leave the porn alone.

Tax porn right out of business!

I think the porn tax is fine, but if the state really wants to fill it's coffers they should consider a coffee tax. They could call it a Latte' ley.

I think the porn tax is fine but if the state really wants to fill it's coffers they should consider a small coffee tax. They could call it the Latte' Levy.

This is a not so veiled attempt to discourage people from purchasing porn, not to stimulate the economy. It seems to me that the majority of people who are in agreement with this proposed tax are anti-pornography. We should not be taxing morality, it's ridiculous. I enjoy my first amendment freedom to purchase my girly magazines from time to time, just like you enjoy the same right to purchase your bibles and crucifixes. Should we tax those items as well? I don't think so. Tax cuts are what we need right now, not big government.

You say "ant-porography" like it's a bad thing. A 2 buck tax on a $10.00 girly mag wont stop anyone from buying them if they are really motivated to buy one. No one is saying don't buy the stuff, they are counting on the stuff to sell. By the way, why would anyone assume that those who buy bibles don't buy porn?

How about a tax on Bibles? More people have bibles than porn

First Amendment is for politics and religion,
Freedom of the Press does NOT apply to porn.

john, i guess you never read ALL of the first amendment. youre also forgetting about the freedom of speech, as well as the freedom of press. if they want to put a 'sin tax' on porn, they should be taxing bibles as well.

Sin tax? Porn? C'mon now, it is expression of the human body, very clean and decent to open minded free thinkers. It's only dirty to the Ultra Radical Right Wing Republicans and their Taliban Christian followers.

I agree tax their Bibles all their accessories at the Christian Book stores. Those warp more minds than admiring human bodies do.

Sure. Tax the s$%t out of it!

Do politicians require an IQ test before running for office? Do most politicians have an IQ that can be counted on more than just one toe? Is there any such thing as an intelligent politician?

If they are going to come up with a stupid tax like this then they will have to definitively define exactly what pornography is. To some people, the JC Penney catalog would be pornographic because it has pictures of models in their underwear. To many, just about every TV show is pornographic, considering some of the subject matter.

To me, pornography is not necessarily nude photos. To me, pornography is photos (or videos)of explicit sex acts.

So, if the moron who suggested this new tax cannot come up with a definte definition of what constitutes pornography, then such a tax should not be passed. It should be challenged and then declare unconstitutional.Do politicians require an IQ test before running for office? Do most politicians have an IQ that can be counted on more than just one toe? Is there any such thing as an intelligent politician?

If they are going to come up with a stupid tax like this then they will have to definitively define exactly what pornography is. To some people, the JC Penney catalog would be pornographic because it has pictures of models in their underwear. To many, just about every TV show is pornographic, considering some of the subject matter.

To me, pornography is not necessarily nude photos. To me, pornography is photos (or videos)of explicit sex acts.

So, if the moron who suggested this new tax cannot come up with a definite definition of what constitutes pornography (and it's unlikely that he is intelligent enough to do so), then such a tax should not be passed. It should be challenged and then declare unconstitutional.

Yeah right .. like this tax will bring in enough money to do anything other than just cover the expenses to enforce it.

Maybe we should bring sales tax in line with the rest of the world .. how about we start at 20% ?

Christian bookstores DO charge sales tax. Anytime a bible is sold retail it is taxed. Check it out yourself. It is interesting when some of you folks denegrate the intelligence of lawmakers over this issue, suggesting that a tax has anything to do with the first ammendment rights. You have the freedom to buy gasoline or diesel fuels but you pay tax, you have property ownership rights but you pay tax (alot of tax), your are free to have and use a telephone but there are taxes added on, your right to purchase porn would not be not affected, just how much you are taxed on the item. Do not loose site of the fact the the lawmaker in question is attempting to put money in the states bank account, killing the cash cow is not the intent. I still say they should tax coffe at these espresso stands, Starbucks and the like. A few pennies on a $4.00 cup o' joe would add up alot quicker that 18% a few porn purchases.

To Webdog I would like to say your opening statement is totally unsupported, as it has been studied and proven by mainstream psychologists/socialogists that pornography does cause marital strife and even divorce situations because it causes a person to step outside the marriage boundaries to find self-satisfaction. Do some research. Men are more prone to this activity because of the way their brains are wired. I have known many loving, beautiful--in shape women that have lost their spouses due to pornography. I liken this to dogs in heat. Once they are on the "scent" they can't stop; continually looking for the next dog. What it boils down to is men and women forgetting their marriage vows to love, honor, and cherish their spouse. When "I" gets in the marriage, "We" is diminished. It's all about self-centered thinking for me. Now, whether to tax or not? I'm not sure. I think the one comment someone made with regard to the free internet porn was well founded. It probably won't make a difference. Didn't our forefathers leave England because of taxes??? I think we should all rise up against what's happening in our nation, rather than waste time debating a porn tax.

Screw the porn tax

Looper,
Thanks for the comments and supporting my above rant. To answer your questions, I am a researcher and do it for a living. There is a difference between porn for pleasure and self-gratification and porn for addiction. You seem to be using data gained from addiction models to defend your statement. If we are to discuss addiction, perhaps that should be in a different blog. But, heck with it, I will use this opportunity. Granted some people may become addicted to porn but that is because they have an addictive personality. This is well explained in all of the addiction models published by leaders in addiction research. Most notably the top 3 common models. In this case it wouldn't matter if it was porn or something else. This is well founded. Yes, just like gambling, overeating, video games, shopping, alcohol and cigarettes. The main difference between these addictions falls upon the moral majority in which they feel pornography is morally obscene and serving no purpose. Yet these same individuals may find self-gratification in overeating, shopping, or overworking. All of which are known to decrease marital bliss but are accepted by the moral majority. These are my points. It isn't the porn, it is the person. Learning self-control is needed by all. Taxing won't change anything. If they are gonna tax the porn, tax the candy bars, sodas, and the various junk foods as well. Not that I want that, but they cause more strain on the tax paying individuals due to lack of productivity and health-associated disorders by the morbidly obese.

Looper,
Thanks for the comments and supporting my above rant. To answer your questions, I am a researcher and do it for a living. There is a difference between porn for pleasure and self-gratification and porn for addiction. You seem to be using data gained from addiction models to defend your statement. If we are to discuss addiction, perhaps that should be in a different blog. But, heck with it, I will use this opportunity. Granted some people may become addicted to porn but that is because they have an addictive personality. This is well explained in all of the addiction models published by leaders in addiction research. Most notably the top 3 common models. In this case it wouldn't matter if it was porn or something else. This is well founded. Yes, just like gambling, overeating, video games, shopping, alcohol and cigarettes. The main difference between these addictions falls upon the moral majority in which they feel pornography is morally obscene and serving no purpose. Yet these same individuals may find self-gratification in overeating, shopping, or overworking. All of which are known to decrease marital bliss but are accepted by the moral majority. These are my points. It isn't the porn, it is the person. Learning self-control is needed by all. Taxing won't change anything. If they are gonna tax the porn, tax the candy bars, sodas, and the various junk foods as well. Not that I want that, but they cause more strain on the tax paying individuals due to lack of productivity and health-associated disorders by the morbidly obese.

what we need to do is double the gas tax we've already proven that we'll pay four bucks plus for a gallon of gas it's a no brainer

It's time to tax the freaks that come up with these ideas. A registration fee on all bicycles would be a good start, No more free rides on roads my gas taxes pay for. A $1.00 surcharge for any cup of coffee that cost more than $2.00 would help too.

This is a violation of the first ammendments freedom of the press. This is basically saying yeah you can write what you want in your magazine but we the government reserve the right to tax the crap out of your message, which happens to be pornography in this instance. This reminds me of the following quote by Niomeller:

When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

Just because you don't watch porn doesn't mean you shouldn't protect their freedoms to produce publications with out extreme government taxation.

Our legislators usually avoid taxing the items that they enjoy! This seems to be against the norm...hmmm

Great point Webdog made about taxing candy bars, sodas, and the various junk foods. Since the #1 product that Americans get calories from is soda; and the health problems associated with being over wieght. Maybe we can get treadmills installed to regulate opening the doors on vending machines while we are at this; just kidding. Seriously though pornography does serve a purpose; it's called safe sex. Wheather you morally agree or not, porn is an outlet for sexual tension. We should take care in taxing it out of existance. Just like with anything there will be those who can control themselves and those who can't. My concern is that someone who has a borderline instablity issue, may look to an alternative way of satisfing their urges. If they are unable to afford this type of entertainment; they may offend in a way that has far more reaching consiquences. I agree we need better goverment management, before ever adding new taxation.

Tax Christian Book Stores out of Existance!!
Go back to Utah you Radical Right Wing Republican Con-Manservatives!
We want nothing of your so-called "moral agenda" here. You weakin more minds than any pornographic magazine ever did. You are the OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE, and we want no part of your radical Christian Taliban-ism here in the LIBRAL NW!!! Take your brainwashing to the Mid-West, Idaho, Utah or the Deep South, they are more like you'all there!

Well, lets look at all the possibilities. I guess we could start a "robbery tax" ya know, if ya want to rob a 7-11 you pay a tax on what you steal. Hey, how about a "drive-by tax"? Say about $2.00 a shot. Or even better, an "assault tax", something like $3.00 per close fist blow, $0.25 for an near miss,
$17.00 for a broken bottle attack. Why the taxes are limitless. Too bad we don't tax stupidity, Olympia alone would support the entire state.

The funny thing about this is all the government waste we ALWAYS hear about,literally THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars and its like oh we need another tax so we can waste more of your money...people are idiots and politians mislead everyone plain and simple...There is not one politician thats not absurdly corrupt.

Why not a tax for being a politician AND requiring a special Lisc for being a politician that,yearly cost $250...With of course a $30 activation fee and no loop holes that let them write it off or take it out of any other pocket then THEIRS....How about that?...I say we start a petition for that...Yes????....Anyone?...I mean if they are going to tax the hell out of us lets turn the tables on them...Lets tax them....

I have no involvement in porn.In my profession it is something I stay away from...But really when do you say enough,you have to be accountable with the money we give you...No one will..We have all become sheep and whats worse now is we are all sheep saying ooooobaaaaaaa ma...baaaaaaaa ma.

Please...He gives you $13 dollars extra a week and your going to be paying over $26 in new taxes...And no one sees this shell game going on.

People are addicted to porn. It is not a necessity, and therefore if people had to stop watching it, so what? its not a necessity like food is. This is why these things are taxed so much. I agree with a porn tax. Our culture is too sick and degrading as it is.