PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Sen. Jane Orie (R-McCandless) is pushing for a 10 percent state tax on adult entertainment, including "pornography distributors, publishers, adult bookstores, escort services and strip clubs," according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Orie said she will ask the Senate to authorize her proposal for the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to study whether the tax is feasible in Pennsylvania. Similar laws in Utah and Texas have been challenged on the grounds that they are unconstitutional.
The senator believes the revenues from the proposed porn tax would help "remediate the harm" of adult entertainment's negative "secondary effects". The alleged "secondary effects" of porn never been proven in any study.
Orie wants the porn-tax revenues to go toward "mental health, child advocacy, domestic violence and other services that would deal with problems arising from the use of pornography," according to reports.
