CARSON CITY, NV — Frontier prostitutes literally helped build the Wild West by becoming landowners and investors in the construction of vital buildings including churches, theaters, saloons and hotels. Ironically, although bordellos are tolerated in painfully rural areas of Nevada, lawmakers yesterday decided that the modern cash strapped state doesn’t need whore money to help it out of its $3 billion budget mess.Unlike most professions, the bordello industry has actually encouraged lawmakers to tax it. On Thursday, a bill proposed by state Sen. Bob Coffin [D-Clark County] to levy a $5-per-customer service tax on patrons of the 20 legal brothels within the state was defeated in committee by a vote of 4-3.
Although Coffin estimated that the tax, which was supported by bordello owners and workers alike, would have raise $2 million per year. The establishments already pay tax to the local government, in addition to $100 per year in state required licenses.
“It’s time for an increase,” Reuters reports Coffin as insisting. “The leadership of the legislature has been saying for many months that everything was on the table as far as money revenue, so I decided to take them up on it and bring this forward.”
Although other states have jumped on the likely unconstitutional strip club per-customer “pole tax” bandwagon, Nevada lawmakers have been shy about accepting funds from the oldest profession, in spite of its regional legality. Although not allowed throughout the state, deeply rural areas outside of Las Vegas and Clark County permit prostitution within a licensed bordello.
Rhode Island is the only other U.S state that allows prostitution, although bordellos, pimping and street work are all illegal.
According to George Flint, chief lobbyist for the Nevada Brothel Association, businesses consider the opportunity to be further taxed to be an “insurance policy” of sorts against future criminalization of the profession, something echoed by those who refuse to levy the tax for fear of further “legitimizing” what they consider to be an immoral business, presumably unlike alcohol or tobacco.
Although Nevada brothels have felt an economic pinch, Flint testified that they still manage to attract about 365,000 customers each year. Meanwhile throughout the state, tourism is lagging and foreclosures are rampant.
