A New Tax For Germany: Will The Sex Tax Machine For Prostitutes Solve European Budget Woes?

Government bureaucrats will find a way to tax anything. One of the commonly used arguments for legalizing activities such as prostitution is that the government can tax it when its legal. Prostitution is legal in Germany. But collecting taxes is, well, not so easy. So in Bonn, Germany they have created “sex tax machines” to generate revenue. Basically you put money into the machine and you get a “permit” to practice prostitution for one night. Other cities are expected to do the same very soon. Failure to pay the tax means a fine of 100 euros. No tax forms to fill out, and you cannot file for an…extension.

Never mind that its European decadent that has got the continent in this economic mess in the first place! Germany’s Der Spiegel reports:

Get your ticket her…

“The budget is tight in Bonn. So tight, in fact, that city officials instituted a new “sex tax” for prostitution this year. They hoped to raise up to €200,000 per year in additional revenues.

Yet while it might sound straightforward enough, the sex tax has been difficult to enforce among those prostitutes who do not work in established brothels and sex clubs. Leading the city to come up with plan B: an automated ticket machine in an area frequented by prostitutes and their customers.

Since Monday, freelance sex workers on the city streets have been required to pay €6 per night into the machine, which resembles an automated parking ticket distributor. This machine, however, emits nightly permits to practice prostitution.

Because many sex workers come from abroad and speak little German, enforcement of the tax had proved problematic, city spokeswoman Monika Frömbgen told German news agency DPA on Tuesday. They struggled to fill out the appropriate tax paperwork, making the ticket machine little more than a simple solution.

“It’s not fair that some women who work in establishments like sex centers or sauna clubs are taxed only because we can find them more easily there,” Frömbgen said.

The full story is here.