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Strip clubs that serve non-alcoholic drinks have to pay taxes on fees charged for lap dances and admission to the clubs, a state court has ruled.

The four Appellate Division justices agreed with a Tax Appeals Tribunal that dances onstage or in private rooms at Nite Moves in suburban Albany don't qualify for the tax exemption as "dramatic or musical arts performances."

Nite Moves contested a tax bill of $124,921.94 plus interest. Tax officials said the sales taxes were paid only on drinks. House fees that dancers pay to the club are not taxable.

The club's attorney said Friday they probably will appeal, maintaining they had made the case that Nite Moves is entitled to the tax exemption that also applies, for example, to the theater performances of ballet.

W. Andrew McCullough said the impact probably won't be widespread since most places with exotic dancers as entertainment are bars mainly selling alcohol where other tax rules apply.

"We admit the ballet is a little different and maybe a little more finely tuned," McCullough said. Their expert, a cultural anthropologist who has studied exotic dance and visited Nite Moves, testified that these too are choreographed performances that should qualify for the exemption.

The club had to pay the tax bill, which followed a 2005 audit, and has a later, larger bill it is also challenging, McCullough said. "They're in business and they'll stay in business."

"There is no question that the club qualifies as a place of amusement under the expansive definition set form in Tax Law," the court said.

"Hence, the issue distills to whether the club's admission and private dance fees constitute charges for admission to a `live dramatic, choreographic or musical performance.'"

The tribunal concluded Nite Moves didn't present sufficient proof that it deserves an exemption. It noted the dancers were not required to have any formal dance training, that a DVD of onstage dances did not by itself show they qualified as choreographed performances and that the anthropologist didn't actually see the backroom couch dances at Nite Moves.

"It was purely and absolutely a value judgment," McCullough said, citing First Amendment issues about free expression and adult entertainment. "The state didn't put on any evidence of anything."

( Source: Associated Press )

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1. Over the weekend it emerged that the International Monetary Fund's website was hacked, suffering what's described as a substantial breach over several months. Though the website is still online, and no "user" data is there to be stolen, there's one rumor that the hack has been traced to an unspecified foreign government, and that private emails and confidential data (presumably relating to international politics and finance) have been taken.

2. The Apple world is brimming with rumors right now, and the latest suggest an unlocked iPhone 4 is coming to the U.S. this week (presumably to keep sales figures buoyant until the iPhone 5 arrives). Meanwhile a highly plausible rumor suggests the iPhone 5 is in final testing phase, and is being carried around by field testers--prior to starting mass production in time for a September release. Verizon CDMA testers are in the mix, suggesting a simultaneous launch or a world phone.

3. Anonymous may have been prevented from using its Facebook and Twitter accounts to promote Operation India, one of its latest round of hacktivist plans to protest a violent crushing of anti-corruption protests. The relevant Twitter account has been suspended, and the Facebook page redirects to the news feed. Other Anonymous digital properties remain online, so if this is an official take-down, it seems to be highly targeted.

4. Yet another high profile hack has stolen private user data--including passwords. This time gaming house Codemasters is the victim, and though it's now shut its servers, it thinks "tens of thousands" of accounts for members of its games website were hacked. No credit card data was accessible by the hackers, but names, addresses, phone numbers and personal data like birthdays were stolen. It seems to be open season for hackers at the moment.

5. Is Facebook topping-out in the U.S. and Canada? That's one conclusion from the latest stats that show the U.S. shed 6 million users throughout May and Canada dropped over 1.5 million. It's the first time the U.S. has lost user numbers during the last year, and added to smaller losses in the U.K., Norway, and Russia it suggests Facebook's approaching maximum penetration in some places, although it is still growing in others, such as Mexico and Brazil.

Dubai's real estate watchdog canceled as many as 217 registered property projects over the past two years after the burst of the property and asset bubble, according to information in a prospectus for Dubai's planned bond issue.

The properties were unlikely to be completed, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) determined, after a review of 450 projects in the emirate. It also said 237 were expected to be completed in due course.

Dubai is planning a benchmark sovereign dollar issue in the coming days, partly to fund its deficit as it scrambles to restore its finances since the 2009 debt crisis. The unrated emirate has set up a new $5 billion Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program.

Dubai's total value of real estate sale transactions dropped to 119.4 billion dirhams ($32.5 billion) last year compared with 152.9 billion dirhams in 2009.

Dubai's property sector has been hit hard by the downturn, with billions of dollars worth of projects put on hold or canceled, while property prices slumped as much as 60 percent.

Land sales also dropped by 14.9 percent in 2010, according to data from Dubai's Department of Land and Properties. The prospectus said only 129 projects have been completed since the beginning of 2009.

High-profile projects that Dubai has put on hold or canceled as a result of the downturn include Dubai Properties' Tiger Woods residential and golf course project and developer Nakheel's kilometer-high tower.

The social networking giant Facebook will likely go-public in the first quarter of 2012, with a valuation that could top $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

A factor in the company's IPO timing is the Securities and Exchange Commission's requirement that some companies like Facebook must disclose financial information if they have more than 500 private investors.

The social media site will likely report that it has crossed that threshold at the end of year, according to these same people.

Facebook is also facing internal pressure from current employees who, because of internal restrictions, cannot sell their private shares on the secondary market, according to these people.

SharesPost, a private exchange that buys shares of non-public companies, last sold 100,000 shares of Facebook for $3.4 million, which put the company's valuation at $85 billion.

General Atlantic, a $17 billion investment firm, bought one tenth of one percent in the social networking site, in March, in a deal that valued the company at $65 billion.

This came just weeks after a large investment in Facebook, organized on behalf of its clients by Goldman Sachs, was $1.5 billion, which valued Facebook at $50 billion, meaning that in the intervening six weeks the company's value had apparently grown by another 30 percent.

( Source: CNBC )

Gerber Scientific Inc ( NYSE: GRB ) announced a definitive merger agreement with Vector Capital Corporation at $11 per share. Below is the detailed news.

Gerber Scientific Inc. and Vector Capital Corporation (Vector) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which funds affiliated with Vector will acquire the Company. Under the terms of the merger agreement, the shareholders of the Company will receive $11.00 per share in cash, or approximately $281.8 million in total. In addition to the cash payment, each shareholder of the Company will receive for each share they own a non-transferable right to receive contingent cash payments at future times, if recoveries are made pursuant to certain litigation claims in respect of U.S. Patent 5,537,135 (a computerized print to cut technology patent). After a thorough assessment, the Board of Directors of the Company (Board) unanimously adopted the merger agreement. The merger agreement permits the Board to solicit, receive, evaluate and enter into negotiations with respect to alternative proposals through July 25, 2011. The Board, with the assistance of its advisors, will actively solicit alternative proposals during this period. There can be no assurance that this process will result in a superior offer. If there is no superior offer, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar 2011. Vector has secured committed debt financing from Fortress Credit Corporation. RA Capital Advisors is acting as financial advisor and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is acting as legal advisor to the Board.

( Source: Reuters )

A congressman who sends an X-rated photo of himself jeopardizes his reputation and his job. But in many states, teens caught doing the same thing can risk felony charges, jail time and being branded sexual offenders.

That's because a minor who transmits a sexually explicit photo of themselves according to many state laws, is manufacturing and distributing child pornography. Lawmakers across the country, however, now say the problem of teen sexting didn't exist when they enacted harsh punishments for child porn and are considering changes that would ensure minors don't face jail time for youthful mistakes.

"Let's just call this what it is: stupid," said Rhode Island state Rep. Peter Martin, a Democrat from Newport who is sponsoring a bill to downgrade teen sexting from a felony to a juvenile offense. "These are kids we're talking about. I don't think minors should face these severe punishments just for being stupid."

Legislatures in Rhode Island and 20 other states have considered bills this year to adjust penalties for teen sexting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California lawmakers are considering legislation that would enable schools to expel students caught sexting. Florida lawmakers voted to punish teen sexting with a $60 fine and community service.

Lawmakers in New York, where U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is embroiled in a sexting scandal, have introduced legislation that would allow judges to send teens who send explicit photos to counseling instead of jail if prosecutors agree they meant no harm.

Studies show that one in five teens has electronically transmitted explicit photos of themselves, and one third say they have received such photos. It's a 21st century update of "I'll show you mine" with one critical difference: lewd photos can be passed on with the push of a button and live forever on the Internet.

"It's an extraordinarily common behavior among kids, like it or not," said Amy Adler, a law professor at New York University who has studied how child pornography laws have been applied to sexting. "I hope lawmakers and prosecutors figure out quickly how to address it, because it's not going away."

Parents and educators are the most likely to discover that a teen has sent or received lewd photos. Even when police or prosecutors get involved, most cases don't result in felony charges. But it has happened.

Six Pennsylvania teens faced felony child pornography charges after police found underage boys swapping nude pictures of female classmates. Three girls were charged with manufacturing and distributing child porn, and three boys were charged with possession. The case ended up in juvenile court, where the teens were sentenced to community service and curfews.

In another Pennsylvania case last year, a federal judge blocked a prosecutor from filing felony charges against teen girls caught in a sexting investigation.

Last month, a Michigan prosecutor announced he had authorized felony charges against three 13- and 14-year-olds caught sexting.

In Rhode Island, a 16-year-old avoided felony charges last summer but pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. The boy had shown friends an explicit phone video of himself with a female student. He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and prohibited from owning a cell phone with a camera for one year.

Prosecutors and judges need more discretion to treat each cast of sexting differently, according to Sherry Capps Cannon, a former principal and high school administrator who recently graduated from Southern University Law Center in Louisiana, where she wrote a law review article examining laws surrounding teen sexting.

There's a big difference, she said, between an adult who emails an explicit photo of a young teen and a 15-year-old who sends such a photo to a boyfriend. But laws in most states make no distinction.

"The law has to acknowledge the intent of the person sending the photo," she said. "Right now, laws designed to protect children are being used to punish them."

The legislation working its way through the Rhode Island General Assembly would make sexting by minors a juvenile offense similar to truancy. The bill has passed the House and awaits a vote in the Senate. Under current law minors who transmit indecent photos of themselves could face criminal penalties including prison time and fines of up to $5,000.

Teens who forward indecent photos of other minors, however, could still face child pornography charges.

State Sen. John Tassoni led a state task force examining cyberbullying and other problems caused by teens using technology in inappropriate ways. He said parents and schools can help stop sexting by reminding students that mistakes committed in cyberspace can have long-lasting, real-world consequences.

But as Weiner's recent case shows, he said, there's no age limit for inappropriate Internet use. And Tassoni doesn't see the problem going away anytime soon.

"I tell these kids that whatever they're putting out there will live forever," said Tassoni, D-Smithfield. "We need to discourage it, but charging them with felonies doesn't seem to be the way to do it."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The chief TV rights holder for Serie A matches issued a demand to Italian authorities Saturday to take strong action to prevent more match-fixing.

Sky Italia CEO Tom Mockridge wrote in a front-page editorial in Corriere della Sera that “whoever controls the outcome and future of this sport” should issue “a serious and definitive signal” that it plans to break with the past.

“That's the only way a partner like Sky can continue to guarantee its viewers” authentic football matches, Mockridge said, adding that “specifically because of the authenticity of those emotions, we've invested billions of euros in recent years.”

Sixteen people were arrested in Italy last week for alleged involvement in a widespread match-fixing and betting ring. Some 18 matches — mostly in Serie B and C — are under investigation by prosecutors in Cremona, where the probe is based, and preliminary hearings have suggested Serie A matches could also be involved.

On Friday, the Italian government introduced a task force to combat match-fixing but said it has no plans to limit legal betting on games.

The investigative task force will be composed of representatives from the interior ministry, sports federations and the treasury ministry and will have the power to use police forces in case organized crime is involved.

The Italian game was also hit with a major match-fixing scandal in 2006, which resulted in Juventus being relegated to Serie B plus penalties for several other clubs. Court cases from the 2006 scandal are still under way.