NY Lawyers Fear New Tax Copied From Holland

Dutch government will tax prostitutes in red-light district; many skeptical of enforcement
The Associated Press - January 13, 2011

The Dutch government has announced that it will tax the wages of the country's famed prostitutes. Individual prostitutes should be charging a 19% sales tax, but often don't. Income tax, sales tax, property tax . . . sex tax? Some governments are so broke they'll try to collect on everything they can. Indeed, workers in the world's oldest profession in Holland are about to get a lesson in the harsh reality of austerity. The Dutch government has warned prostitutes who advertise their wares in the famed windows of Amsterdam's red-light district to expect a business-only visit from the tax man. Even though the country legalized the practice a decade ago, authorities are only now getting around to taxing individual sex workers. "We began at the larger places, the brothels, so now we're moving on to the window landlords and the ladies," a spokeswoman for the country's Tax Service said. Under Dutch law, prostitutes should be charging 19% sales tax on each transaction. Customers typically pay $65 for a 15-minute session. Samantha, a sex worker in the city, isn't so worried. "How can they tell how many people come inside each day or how much money changes hands once the curtain is drawn?" she asked. "Not many customers ask for a receipt."