TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida representative Rick Kriseman (D-St. Petersburg) has introduced a bill that would tax adult entertainment as a means of raising money for the state's low-income senior citizens.
House Bill 751 proposes a sales tax on adult businesses and services including "lingerie, bikini or nude modeling; body shampoos or scrubs; private shower shows; peep shows; nude, seminude or topless dancing; nude, seminude or topless waitressing; lap, friction, couch or table dancing; erotic massages or performances; nude photo sessions; and personal escort services.''
According to the Gainesville Sun, Kriseman wants to use the sales tax to increase the monthly Medicaid "personal allowance" for nursing home residents and other elderly wards of the state from $35 to $70.
"I'm sorry if I'm going to cost you the tip you were going to put in somebody's garter,'' Kriseman said. "We're not taxing your lap dance. We're taxing your admission.''
Kriseman noted that the Medicaid allowance has been stuck at $35 since the 1980s.
"People need to at least have a quality of life for the time they have left,'' Kriseman told the Sun.
A tax on strip clubs became law in Texas this year, and New Mexico is currently mulling a similar bill. Pennsylvania senator Jane Orie (R-McCandless) has proposed a study on implementing such a measure.
