Local authorities in Dortmund, Germany, face a local budget deficit equivalent to 133 million dollars, or some 100 million euros. To fill the huge gap the authorities in this town from western Germany got creative and will put a levy on providers of worldly pleasures in the town’s “red-light” district.
According to the new legal requirement, every prostitute in Dortmund must buy a ticket for every working day in order to conduct business. The price of the ticket is six euros, and not having one brings the risk of fines.
The new tax should raise some 750,000 euros to the city’s budget every year, according to the local authorities, which said that the town’s budget was in trouble, as is the case with many German cities and they have been forced to search for practical ways to raise more money. According to the city’s spokesman, Michael Meinders, they have considered several taxes, but none were as easy to implement. Another proposal was to charge anyone going to the “red-light” area of Dortmund with amounts between 1-2 euros, but political support for this option was very low.
The new rule was in effect since summer, but the tickets were not made available. Starting next week, however, they will be up for sale and every prostitute will have to get one if they plan on working.
In Germany such taxes are not out of the norm, as prostitution is legal and all sex workers must pay income taxes. In Cologne, authorities introduced a 150 euros tax in 2004, to which they later added a daily tax option for part time sex workers of 6 euros.
