Tennessee Stripper Tax Gets The Ax

Score one for the strippers.

A proposed tax on strippers was effectively killed by Tennessee's legislature this week, the Tennessean reports.

The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Joe Carr, would have placed a 20 percent sales tax on items sold at “sexually oriented businesses,” and it would also force strippers to pay a privilege tax to work in the state.

Tennessee isn't the first state to consider a stripper tax. As state governments look for ways to raise additional revenue amidst budget crises, some are turning to stripper taxes. The Illinois Senate is looking into such a tax that would go towards funding rape crisis centers, CBS reports.

And in Texas, the state's Supreme Court upheld the $5 strip club fee, which, since it was implemented in 2007, has raised $15 million to provide care for uninsured Texans.

Tracy O'Neall, a lobbyist for the adult industry, told the AP that Tennessee's tax would have actually ended up costing tax payers money if it was implemented.

"You're singling out one sector of entertainment and this will set the state up for unnecessary litigation at incredible coast to the taxpayer," O'Neall said. "Because this will be challenged if it is passed."

But not all strippers are opposed to a "poll tax."

In 2010, NBC New York reported on a group of strippers who wanted the state to tax more of their income to pay for school funding.

NSFW video below: