Amsterdam Prostitutes to Face Tax Bills

Prostitutes who operate openly in Amsterdam's red light district have been warned by Dutch authorities that the government will begin enforcing tax collections on their earnings. While prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands for over a decade and prostitutes have previously been subject to taxation, many have not paid taxes on their income from patrons. However, agents of the nation's Tax Service have recently begun visiting brothels in the red light district to warn the owners and individual sex workers of their tax obligations, according to the Associated Press. After-expense profits can be taxed at 33 percent for those making less than about $23,000 a year and up to 52 percent for those making over about $70,000 annually. Prostitutes by and large have not been protesting the tax crackdown, according to the AP. At least one Dutch prostitute said she has been paying taxes all along, but blamed immigrants from Eastern Europe for not paying their fair share. [view link]