(The Center Square) – Making use of one of the seven deadly sins, three North Carolina senators are pushing a bill that includes a tax on pornography.
Four members of the House of Representatives also have a proposal adding state revenue from lust, theirs targeting sexually oriented businesses. Eventually, it could be known as a pole tax.
Neither has reached a floor vote. Lawmakers, however, are hoping to be out of Raleigh by July 2 – and House plans tentatively only have voting days on Thursday or this week and next.
The consensus list of seven deadly sins as popularized by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth.
Human Trafficking Omnibus, known also as Senate Bill 1007, on Tuesday was discussed in the Committee on the Judiciary. The bill title does fit for the meat of the legislation. Also included, however, is an “excise tax on prurient materials,” creating in Chapter 105 of the General Statutes a harmful materials tax.
The baseline test is whether harmful to minors. The bill proposes to tax 10% on each harmful materials vendor, applicable to gross receipts for any physical retail location in the state. From net proceeds collected, 50% would go to the Administrative Office of the Courts to be allocated to the North Carolina Human Trafficking Commission, and 50% to the Domestic Violence Center Fund.
Primary sponsors are Republican Sens. Ted Alexander of Cleveland County, Lisa Barnes of Nash County and Michael Lazzara of Onslow County.
Added Fee for Sexually Oriented Businesses, known also as House Bill 1121, seeks to collect $10 for state coffers from each customer for each entry into a “sexually oriented businesses that combine nudity with the aggravating factor of alcohol.”
Fees collected would go to the Sexual Assault and Rape Crisis Center Fund, to be used by the North Carolina Council for Women in accordance with General Statute 143B-394.21.
The proposal filed April 29 hasn’t moved from the Committee on Judiciary where assigned the following day. Primary sponsors are Republican Reps. Dennis Riddell of Alamance County, Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County, and Paul Scott of Rutherford County, and Democratic Rep. Monica Johnson-Hostler of Wake County.
