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Taxing
Brothels In Nevada
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Nevada
lawmakers are considering a bill that would tax the state's
28 legal brothels, the only regulated bordellos in the United
States.
The
brothels pay local taxes and license fees but have never
been taxed by the state, which under the bill would impose
a 10 percent tax on drinks and food and collect a $2 fee
on each customer.
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The
Nevada Brothel Association backs the bill, but not all bordello
owners think it is a good idea. Dennis Hof, owner of Moonlite
BunnyRanch in Carson City, where the HBO "Cathouse" television
show is filmed, said a bordello tax would be "ridiculous." "I'm
paying big license fees," Hof said of the fees he pays to operate
two bordellos in Lyon County. "If you had two McDonald's and sell
50 million hamburgers a year, it would cost you $300.
I
sell a little bit of sex and it costs me $200,000 a year. That's
enough." The bill's sponsor, Democratic Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie,
could not be immediately be reached for contact. Greg Bortolin,
a spokesman for Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, said the governor
did not support the tax bill because he did not want to break
with the tradition of managing legalized prostitution at the local
level in rural counties and because he opposed new taxes.
Nevada
lawmakers are also taking up a bill that would impose a 10 percent
tax on strip clubs. The general counsel of the America Civil Liberties
Union of Nevada has warned lawmakers the bill, if passed, would
be overturned by the courts since stripping is constitutionally
protected free expression and cannot be singled out for a tax.
Sexual
Resources
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The
Holistic Wisdom Corporation