Nevada Lawmaker Seeks Hooker Tax

A Nevada lawmaker is seeking a new tax on the world's oldest profession, NPR reports. Democratic State Sen. Bob Coffin has introduced a bill that would tax anybody using the services of a prostitute—in the state's 25 legal brothels or elsewhere—$5 per day, with the proceeds going to fund state services and assistance for sex workers.

"I don't know why people won't recognize that we have a legal industry," said Coffin, who estimates the tax would rake in $2 million from the brothels alone. "I'm willing to do the dirty work if no one else will." The state's Republican governor, an opponent of legalized prostitution, said he would refuse to sign the bill.
(More Nevada stories.)