Yesterday, IJ won a victory for free speech when the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Charlottesville can’t tax freelance writers like businesses. In doing so, the court reaffirmed that, when in doubt, tax laws must be interpreted in favor of the taxpayer and not the government.

Corban Addison is a novelist and nonfiction writer who lives and works in Charlottesville, Virginia. In 2018, Corban was shocked when the city told him he owed thousands of dollars in unpaid business license taxes. But business license taxes are meant to pay for infrastructure and other costs of brick-and-mortar business—something that makes no sense for freelance writers—and Charlottesville’s code doesn’t even include authors on its list of taxable occupations, so they had no way of knowing it applied to them. What’s more, other kinds of big media companies like newspapers and magazines are specifically exempted.

So, Corban joined with IJ to challenge this unfair law, and in 2021, we won in state court. Yesterday’s victory at the Commonwealth’s highest court upholds the trial judge’s ruling and means that Corban will receive a refund for thousands of dollars in taxes he never should have been made to pay.

This is a win for writers, other freelance creatives, and taxpayers across Virginia. Our supporters make this work possible—join them with a secure online contribution today.

Scott

Scott G. Bullock
President and General Counsel
Institute for Justice

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