Sales Tax on Sex?

Back in the 1980s I had my first encounter with a Red Light District. I was a young military wife living in Germany and had traveled to Frankfurt for a day of touring. I had just left the Hauptbahnhof (the train station) and directly across the street is the Bahnhofsviertel or better known to the locals as the Red Light District. Prostitution is a booming business in Germany and other countries where it is legal to pay for sex. I was shocked at the amount of traffic in and out of those buildings.

It is a booming business in America also although not a legal one. Now, France is considering making it illegal to "pay for sex", too. If France does enforce the ban on prostitution, it would join only a few other European countries(Sweden, Norway and Iceland) It is not illegal to sell sex in Sweden but it is illegal to pay for it.

Anthony Weiner is now under scrutiny for his involvement with Porn star Ginger Lee after tweeting his privates or his "package" as he refers to it. Weiner is a representative in NY State and last Thursday, the NY State Supreme Court Appellate Division made a ruling involving an "Upscale Juice Bar" called Nite Moves in Latham. The debate centered on whether or not the "amenities" provided at Nite Moves is art or commerce. If it is commerce, then NY needs to charge sales tax.

What is it with politicians and prostitutes? I suppose that is a separate topic for another article and a good place to start would be the US World and News Report timeline printed in March of 2008 called "Politicians and Prostitutes." You can read it here. Of course they would have to considerably update the list with the likes of Weiner and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. I'm not so sure why those in political power seem to have "periods of weakness" to quote former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Even John F. Kennedy was said to have had his cache of mistresses.

Just today, the Chamber of Deputies in Santo Domingo is debating on whether or not to create "Red Zones" where prostitutes would be restricted to certain areas and away from historical sites. I wonder if the prostitutes in Santo Domingo are paying sales tax.

In the end, the NYS justices decided that Nite Moves had to charge sales tax because whatever is going on behind closed doors isn't a form of art. Otherwise it would be tax-exempt. Even the Dutch government wants the prostitutes to pay tax these days and you can read about it here.

Sources:

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110616/NEWS/106160319

http://www.gadailynews.com/world/60229-sex-tax-broke-dutch-gov-t-wants-hookers-to-pay-up.html

http://blogs.forbes.com/danielfreedman/2011/01/24/politicians-and-prostitutes/

http://www.inyourpocket.com/germany/frankfurt/red-light-frankfurt_55121f?more=1