Nevada Brothels Want to Be Good Neighbor
- By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY,
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
SFGATE.com
(05-10) 10:48 PDT MOUND HOUSE, Nev. (AP) --
Nevada's legal brothels are feeling like the wife who slips
into her sexiest negligee and still can't get her husband to put
the newspaper down.
The bordellos are practically begging the state of Nevada to
tax them, hoping the extra revenue for schools, parks and health
care will endear them to the public and give them more political
security and, ultimately, more business.
But the politicians are not interested.
Last month, one proposal to impose the tax failed to come to
a vote in an Assembly committee; another was gutted in a Senate
committee. A spokesman for Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn said the
idea was "not something the governor is going to waste any
time on."
"The governor just thinks it's a local government issue
and not part of his agenda," spokesman Greg Bortolin said.
"He thinks, as well, that he would be affirming the
industry if he came out in support of the bill."
Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal. But the
state keeps the industry at arm's length. It does not levy a
business tax on houses of ill repute, it bars them from
advertising, and it doesn't allow them in the state's biggest
urban area, Las Vegas.
In fact, the decision of whether to allow prostitution is
made on a county-by-county basis, with state law largely silent
on the matter.
"We're the only industry in the state that in one move
of the Legislature or the governor can be swept away
entirely," said Nevada Brothel Association lobbyist George
Flint. "If more people move to this state with Nebraska or
Iowa or California license plates, the old Nevada mentality that
always tolerated us is going to be diluted."
So Flint came up with a solution: "Look, if we
contribute and do nice things for the state, maybe the state
will like us better."
Two years ago during a budget shortage, the brothels came
close to getting their wish, but last-minute negotiations
inadvertently exempted them from a tax on live entertainment.
This year, they had an unlikely ally in an anti-prostitution
lawmaker who sponsored a measure proposing a tax of about $2 per
customer. It was expected to bring some $3.2 million to the
state over the next two fiscal years.
"I don't believe in legal prostitution, but I'm not a
zealot about it, either," said the sponsor, Assemblywoman
Sheila Leslie, a Democrat from Reno. "They're a legal
business, they should contribute like every other legal
business, and I'm willing to make that happen."
Brothels are legal in 10 of Nevada's 17 counties, which
charge a quarterly business fee ranging from $100 to $20,000 and
a work permit fee of $50 per prostitute.
Some counties get as much as 25 percent of their business
fees from brothels. Lyon County, home to the famous Moonlite
Bunnyranch, will collect $316,000 in brothel business fees and
$25,000 in permit fees next year.
But many brothel owners are willing to pay more. The state's
28 bordellos make $20 million to $50 million annually, said
Geoff Arnold, president of the Nevada Brothel Association.
Many think paying a tax will ultimately help them lift the
ban on advertising. They want to be able to use billboards or
fliers, or at least advertise openly in the phone book.
(Brothels are now listed under "massage" in the Yellow
Pages.)
Bobbi Davis, owner of the Shady Lady Ranch, a brothel about
120 miles outside Las Vegas, said paying taxes is the way to go.
"There's a price, sometimes, for legitimacy," he
said.
Precious, a prostitute at the Shady Lady Ranch, said that
even if the owners pass the tax on to the girls, it won't be a
problem.
"What's a couple extra dollars off? I can waste that on
lip gloss or new eyeliner," she said. "That's chump
change for what some of the girls make here."
Prostitutes at Shady Lady Ranch make up to $1,000 daily
during peak tourist season, she said. (Brothels and prostitutes
are subject to federal income tax on their overall earnings, but
Nevada has no state income tax.)
Dennis Hof, owner of the BunnyRanch, is against the idea. He
said brothels already pay their fair share and should not have
to "pay for legitimacy."
Flint said the tax offer stands, should future legislatures
want to take him up on it. In the meantime, he said, "I bow
to the wisdom of the Legislature."
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2005/05/10/national/a104834D84.DTL
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