Nevada High Court OKs Tax That Hits Strip Clubs, Exempts NASCAR And Boxing

When there is a decision by the Supreme Court of Nevadathat includes among its plaintiffs Deja Vu Showgirls of Las Vegas, Little Darlings of Las Vegasand Crazy Horse Too Gentlemens Clubwhat could it possible be about? What else but freedom of speech and the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States? Well, also taxes of course, since Im writing about it here rather than my alternative blog. Among the defendants is the Nevada Department of Taxation.

At issue was the application of the Nevada Live Entertainment Tax to exotic dancing establishments which the various establishments argued

is a differential tax of speakers protected under the First Amendment that triggers strict scrutiny because it discriminates on the basis of the content of taxpayer speech, targets a small group of speakers, and threatens to suppress speech.

If you are curious as to what kind of speeches the Deja Vu Showgirls of Las Vegas give, here is a sample.

About The Tax

The Nevada Live Entertainment Tax is either 5% or 10% depending on the size of the venue. In smaller venues, everything that is sold during the live entertainment is subject to the tax. It gets a little complicated, since it is not always entirely clear whether there is live entertainment going on, as this excerpt from the Revenue Departments FAQ shows:

or fancy serving techniques designed to entertain the patrons are utilized. However, if the bartenders engage in singing, dancing or acrobatics, these activities are likely to be considered live entertainment, just as if any other performer were involved.

Nothing there about how much in the way of clothes the bartenders need to be wearing. Not long after the tax was enacted, the legislature started putting in exceptions. Among them are boxing, baseball and NASCAR.

Entertainment Is Free Speech And Cannot Be Taxed?

The Court disposed of some procedural issues, which are a bit too lawyerly for me to get into, before it got to the heart of the matter. The first argument that that the clubs made was that taxing entertainment is akin to taxing speech, which is unconstitutional. That argument did not get very far. They cited a case in which Jehovahs Witnesses complained about having to pay a flat fee for a permit.

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Nevada High Court OKs Tax That Hits Strip Clubs, Exempts NASCAR And Boxing