Monday, January 26, 2009

Brothels: Tax Us!


Still on vacation -- we're returning to Vegas this evening -- but I wanted to point to the piece I have in today's New York Times on the brothel industry's request to be taxed by the state and the state saying, a la Sarah Palin, "Thanks, but no thanks." Read it here. Above is the glory screenshot; the paper had the story out front for a while last night.

I'm curious what you folks think about (a) taxing the legal brothels or (b) legalizing it in Clark County.

7 comments:

Young Nevadan said...

I was just musing on that very point. I'm all for it! Here are my arguments:
www.youngnevadan.blogspot.com

Can't wait to discuss it! Now, if only our legislators would...

Anonymous said...

While I am not inclined to partake in prostitution, legal or illegal, I never understood why it was legal in the state but not in the city of Las Vegas. I was also surprised to hear that it was not taxed. How does the state pay for enforcement and supervision activities?

Young Nevadan said...

It is not legal in Clark County (or Washoe, for that matter) because the total population excedes 400,000. As far as supervision and enforcement? It's anyone's guess. I know the women pay for their own monthly HIV screening and weekly STD screenings, but beyond that... the taxpayer?

Anonymous said...

Why not charge sales tax! It will be great for working girls to try to figure out 7.75% in their heads whille performing their deeds. If not I'd like to know where they would hide yheir calculators or tax tables! HA HA HA!

Anonymous said...

Tax it? Yes. Bring it to Clark? No.

Or, alternatively, bring it to Clark but not in the cities. I say this because I live here and thus I have to see it from that perspective. Do you want the ranch next to YOUR house?

In the middle of nowhere, the brothels can't be called the decay of anyone's community, or the reason for anyone's land value dropping significantly. That works out well for us and for the brothels.

Anonymous said...

Amsterdam of the Desert, or is that Dessert. I can just now see the store fronts with the picture windows and the lights now. Mormon Las Vegas explain that one. Once again a case of the so called "upperworld" usurping the role of the "underworld" in Vegas, unfortunately I think that the mob ran a fairer game in the casinos.

Young Nevadan said...

hehehehe.... technically one couldn't move in next door to your house... that's zoned as residential ;)
I grew up in a small town which allowed brothels to opperate and- let me tell ya!- it was extremely difficult for them to get permission to work even on the outsides of the city limits.