Nevada Governor Says 'No Thanks' To Brothel Tax Cash

by Michele Clark · 2009-04-13 12:00:00 UTC
Topics:

To offset its $2.8 billion shortfall, some Nevada state legislators want to tax brothels.  The state has not collected a dollar from prostitution since brothels were legalized in rural counties more than 30 years ago - a strange fact in a state that has not had a problem imposing a "sin tax" on other forms of adult entertainment.  Now, a few legislators are proposing a new tax amounting to $5.00 per sex act (legal or not). The brothel owners don't mind; neither do many of the women providing the services.  And yet, notwithstanding the possible $2 Million/year revenue, Nevada State Governor Jim Gibbons has said, "No thanks."  Rather than attempting to close down the state's brothels, which would admittedly be an uphill battle, the governor is turning his back on their money.  Why?  In the governor's eyes, taxes make a business legitimate.  Yes, brothels are legal in parts of Nevada, but are they main stream?  To put it another way, are parents clamoring to include prostitution in their daughters' middle school career days' agenda?  I don't think so. Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, agrees with the governor.

"It's tough enough raising teenage daughters without adding this to the mix," she said.

The brothels themselves recognize the respectability issue.  Women check into work not for a day but for a week or two or even a month and, while there, they usually can't leave their compounds.  The reason?  To keep them safe from hostile townies who do not like running into brothel residents at the supermarket or on a park bench.

It is a new twist on an old debate. Dutch prostitutes already discovered that legalizing brothels did not make their jobs respectable in the public's eyes. They still had to deal with the social stigma attached to prostitution and eventually turned their back on legal employment. They continued their professional activities not in legal brothel windows but as high-end under-the-radar call girls.

There is a lot of talk about legalizing prostitution and brothels these days.  But, if brothels are made legal, pimps will still control the majority of prostituted women in the streets.  Women will not find the empowerment or the legitimacy they seek.  And Main Street will keep the welcome wagon in the garage.  Nevada's governor may be making a few tactical errors, but his strategy is spot on.  Brothels are not legitimate businesses.

Image from statesman.com

Michele Clark
PREVIOUS STORY:
Interview: Jesus on Human Trafficking
NEXT STORY:
Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, how are you going to take action?

COMMENTS (5)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.