The taxes of sin
Bonn has introduced a flat-rate tax of €6 a night for prostitutes working in the city, payable at a ticket machine. Attempts to tax prostitution have been made since at least Roman times: a receipt from Roman Egypt suggested that a male prostitute paid four drachmas in tax for a two-month period.
— Sweden has taxed prostitutes since 1982 at the normal rate; workers qualify for sick leave pay and a pension.
— The Netherlands imposes a sales tax of 19 per cent on each act.
— Nevada has proposed a tax at a flat rate of $5 for every sex act.
Whether the weather
A Glaswegian woman living in New York was ridiculed for saying she didn’t think that Hurricane Irene could exceed anything that the Scottish weather could throw at her. How did the reality measure up?
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