Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes

[Janice]

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote Wednesday morning on the pimp tax. The bill also calls for more jail time for sex workers.

If passed, the provision will authorize at least $2 million toward the establishment of an office in the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation unit to prosecute unlawful sex workers for violations of tax laws.

"Recent headlines have focused on sex trafficking in connection with the World Cup in Germany," Grassley said. "This vile crime is under our noses in the United States, and it's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers. Prosecuting these tax code violations can get these guys off the street and yank from their grasp the girls and women they exploit."

Grassley said the problem is "especially horrible" when underage girls are involved.

Asked if taxing sex workers would legitimize their trade, a Grassley spokesman said the goal was simply to find "yet another alternative to track the money flowing in this industry to get at potential criminals."

Currently, the IRS has to prove a prostitute's or pimp's income to pursue a tax law violation. But under Grassley's proposal, a pimp could get up to 10 years in prison for each prostitute for whom the pimp hasn't filed a W-2, which means a pimp caught with 10 unregistered prostitutes faces a century in prison.

Carol Leigh, a representative of the Bay Area Sex Worker Advocacy Network in San Francisco, California, called the proposal short-sighted.

"Forced labor, kidnapping should be targeted. But this legislation broadly targets the sex trade in general, and could target your local strip club," Leigh said. "We want laws enforced against those who abuse us, against those who are violent, and enforcement of labor regulations. That is the only truly effective way to protect the welfare of the women who work in the industry."

[Janice]

I once heard someone comment that a woman who married a man just for his money was in the same class as a prostitute. Only thing is, she has a license to do it...

[TexasStooge]

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa is hoping to stamp out the sex trade by taxing pimps and prostitutes, then jailing them when they don't pay.

It's about time.

[Regit]

Sounds good to me. I've always thought the best way to control most things is to legalize them and then tax them to death. You're never going to get rid of these things 100% so you might as well make money. Also, people seem much more scared of the IRS than the FBI/state police.

[coriolis]

I once heard someone comment that a woman who married a man just for his money was in the same class as a prostitute. Only thing is, she has a license to do it...

The wife tax! Actually there should be a hefty subsidy for husbands. It's hard work, but someone's got to do it.

[chadtm80]

If you can do it on pimps, why not drug dealers?

[Janice]

Great thinking, Chad.....

[chadtm80]

and another thing... If they can find them to tax them, why cant they find them to arrest them

[Janice]

Hey, why arrest them if they can tax them.....

Does this mean the government is going to legalize prostitution?

[Yarrah]

Since you'll never be able to get rid of prostitution, it's better to regulate and see if everything's done in a legal way. Still, it would be better to minimize prostitution as much as you can and this is probably the best way.

[Janice]

Hey, our government has never done anything about prostitution. Every city has them on the streets and the cops just ride by. Yes, they arrest a few, but they are out on the streets again. It is just a joke.

[Regit]

Hey, our government has never done anything about prostitution. Every city has them on the streets and the cops just ride by. Yes, they arrest a few, but they are out on the streets again. It is just a joke.

You're right. I think a lot of people think prostitution is only seen in Nevada and some large cities. But they're simply wrong. My town has 5,000 people and we have prostitutes. If I wanted a prostitute right now, I could get to one within 20 minutes. But we've never really done anything to stop it other than occasional arrests. So I say if we're not going to stop it, make money off of it.