CARSON CITY, Nev. — Many of Nevada’s lawmakers would like to keep the state’s legal brothels a dirty little secret. Never mind the potential cash a state tax on prostitution could bring. Each time legislators have considered such a tax, they’ve reacted with all the squeamishness of a teenager whose parents want to explain the birds and bees.
But with Nevada facing a budget gap as big as $3 billion, state Sen. Bob Coffin, a Democrat, convened a hearing Tuesday on a bill for a state tax on prostitution.
“Can we be so proud as to refuse money that is offered from a legal business?” Coffin asked.
Coffin’s proposal would require a $5 tax on a prostitute’s services. The Nevada Brothel Association estimated that the bordellos host about 365,000 patrons a year.
Tuesday’s hearing ended without a vote, and the proposal will die in the Senate Taxation Committee unless legislators take action this week.
