Taxation-State and Local Commons^™

Exotic Dancing: Taxable Trash Or Exempt Art, John O. Hayward

John O. Hayward

Exotic dancers usually embroil themselves in censorship battles with local authorities. But recently they have drawn the attention of tax authorities who have tussled with the owners of so-called “gentlemen’s clubs” over whether the exotic dancing performed in their establishments are subject to taxation. This paper examines two recent cases where state authorities choose to tax exotic dancing while at the same time exempting what some jurists regard as comparable choreographic performances. In the opinion of these commentators, the tax authorities exhibited a bias against low-brow artistic expression, thus engaging in impermissible content discrimination. It advances the proposition that judges …