Sacramento- The Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee is scheduled to consider AB 2914, an adult entertainment tax that will be boosted from eight to 25 percent in a proposal to tax strip clubs, porno videos and other adult entertainment.
Opponents of the bill said the large tax increase constitutes censorship and would make California products less competitive.
Assemblyman Calderon (D-Whittier, pictured]) planned to discuss his legislation at the hearing.
He planned to release documentation that he claims demonstrates that adult businesses may cause increased criminal activities.
Matt Gray, a lobbyist to the adult entertainment industry, claimed the study is more than 30 years old and has no statistical merit. He said it has never been vouched for by researchers in the scientific community.
Documents issued by social scientists Dr. Dan Linz of UC Santa Barbara, and Dr. Bryant Paul of the University of Illinois were set to be shown. Those papers were said to show why the study is considered by some as unreliable.
“As written, AB 2914 would allow a single product to be taxed at production, primary distribution, secondary distribution, inventory and retail sales,” Gray said in a statement. “How do you expect California businesses to compete against out of state sales if California’s sale price of their products is increased 125 percent?”
Popular adult entertainment star Kayden Cross is one of those scheduled to testify against the bill.
Shelley Lubben, former porn actress and founder of the Pink Cross Foundation, also planned to speak in support of the bill, .
Daphne Khoury was also listed as a former adult entertainer who was going to be speaking in support of the bill.
Gray said the tax hike could cause the entire adult entertainment industry in California to move out of the state, taking 40,000 jobs with it.
“If this happens, what are your plans to create more jobs in this time of economic downturn?” Gray asked.
Many California Democratic lawmakers support the proposal as they search for some way to come up with money in the face of the state’s massive budget deficit.
Republicans have vowed to stand strongly against any new tax increases.
Proposals to lay off teachers and to cut school budgets have not been greeted warmly by many lawmakers, especially Democrats.