Gingersnap
03-24-2009, 04:35 PM
Proposed bill would tax prostitution at $5 per session
Senator says bill could bring $2 million a year to state coffers
Sam Morris / 2006 file photo
By Cy Ryan
Mon, Mar 23, 2009 (4:06 p.m.)
CARSON CITY – Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, proposed a tax on prostitution today that he says could raise $2 million a year for the state.
Patrons of prostitutes — both legal and illegal — would pay an extra $5 tax per session under the bill, which Coffin said was his idea alone.
In the runup to the legislative session, a lobbyist for the state’s legal brothels volunteered to be taxed, an effort that some said would guarantee their continued survival. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley turned down the industry, effectively killing the effort.
“I think we will support it,” George Flint, a spokesman for the state’s brothel industry, said of Coffin’s bill.
There are eight “major” brothels in the rural counties, where they are legal, and 17 smaller houses of prostitution, said Flint. The minimum charges range from $100 to $200.
Coffin said he had considered applying the state’s live entertainment tax to prostitution, but encountered some constitutional questions.
I said nothing when they came for the smokers because I wasn't a smoker. I said nothing when they came for the porkers because I wasn't a porker. I said....wait! What? Hookers? OMG! :D
Taxes. (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/23/proposed-bill-would-tax-prostitution-5-session/)
Senator says bill could bring $2 million a year to state coffers
Sam Morris / 2006 file photo
By Cy Ryan
Mon, Mar 23, 2009 (4:06 p.m.)
CARSON CITY – Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, proposed a tax on prostitution today that he says could raise $2 million a year for the state.
Patrons of prostitutes — both legal and illegal — would pay an extra $5 tax per session under the bill, which Coffin said was his idea alone.
In the runup to the legislative session, a lobbyist for the state’s legal brothels volunteered to be taxed, an effort that some said would guarantee their continued survival. Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley turned down the industry, effectively killing the effort.
“I think we will support it,” George Flint, a spokesman for the state’s brothel industry, said of Coffin’s bill.
There are eight “major” brothels in the rural counties, where they are legal, and 17 smaller houses of prostitution, said Flint. The minimum charges range from $100 to $200.
Coffin said he had considered applying the state’s live entertainment tax to prostitution, but encountered some constitutional questions.
I said nothing when they came for the smokers because I wasn't a smoker. I said nothing when they came for the porkers because I wasn't a porker. I said....wait! What? Hookers? OMG! :D
Taxes. (http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar/23/proposed-bill-would-tax-prostitution-5-session/)