Philadelphia implements 'blog tax'

Many small business owners use blogs as a free and easy way to stay in touch with customers and reach out to shoppers. However, a new measure in Pennsylvania is about to change that.

The City of Philadelphia has announced that it will begin charging a $300 fee for a lifetime license or $50 per year for businesses that operate a blog.

However, the city maintains this is not a tax on bloggers - it is a "business-privilege license" that charges only those who collect money from their blogs with online advertising.

While many bloggers are up in arms over the new tax - a commentator on BuzzFeed called it "unbelievably stupid," according to the Philadelphia Inquirer - it may prove hard to enforce, especially considering the number of blogs in the city.

The Internal Revenue Service has provided some aid to the city, though, by flagging any tax returns that reported blog income - no matter how little.

According to NPR, any individual who signs up with Google AdSense could be required to pay up, including obscure sites such as "catswhoscrapbook.com" that most likely make no more than 50 cents annually. So far, Philadelphia is the only city to implement such a measure.