Pole Tax

HOUSTON — The Texas comptroller’s “pole tax” rule for businesses that offer “live nude entertainment” and allow the consumption of alcohol on their premises is valid under the Administrative Procedures Act, a Texas appeals court ruled. An association of “bikini/latex clubs” challenged the rule, arguing the opaque latex the entertainers use does not reveal “any statutorily specified body part.”

However, because a federal court has invalidated the rule, the state still cannot collect the tax at this time.

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