It’s not art? Judge says NYC strip club must tax lap dances

February 11, 2014 Associated Press

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An administrative law judge has ordered the owners of New York City strip club to pay $2.1 million in back taxes.

The Jan. 30 tax ruling said the Hustler Club should have been collecting sales tax on lap dances, among other things.

The ruling echoed other recent rulings that lap dances given at strip clubs don’t qualify for New York’s sales-tax exemption for “dramatic, choreographic or musical” performances.

Judge Donna Gardiner wrote in a Jan. 30 decision that while the Hustler Club’s performers used choreography, the service they provided was “sexual fantasy, not dance.”

The judge also said the club wasn’t properly accounting for millions of dollars in scrip sold to patrons that could be used for performances or tips.

The club’s lawyers didn’t immediately return phone or email messages.