|
Taxing brothels could bring in millions, Knesset inquiry told
By Zvi Zrahiya
January 19, 2005
The Israel Tax Authority estimates it could bring in NIS 2.2 million a year in
revenue from brothels, according to a report delivered to the Knesset's
Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on the Trading in Women.
The estimate is based on raids of mid-sized brothels, which employ about 15
women each, said Zohar Yom-Tov, the authority's assistant director.
Commission Chair Zahava Gal-On questioned the morality of collecting such
income and value-added taxes, which she said would turn the state into a
"super-pimp." The state should hit traffickers of both drugs and women in the
pocketbook, waging an economic war in addition to the criminal one, she argued.
However, Gal-On objected to doing so through taxation, which she said would
validate going into prostitution. The move would ultimately institutionalize
prostitution, recognize it as a profession and recognize trafficking in women
as a type of trade for hire, she said.
Yom-Tov told the commission that tax evaders had recently developed a new
method to launder cash in order to prevent the seizure of money during raids.
It involves the sale of a multiple-use ticket - patrons pay for 12 visits and
get the 13th visit for free.
As a result of intense police activity to close brothels over the past year,
the price of traded women had risen from the $3,000-$5,000 range to
$8,000-$10,000, said police Chief Inspector Raanan Caspi.
Police had also opened 500 criminal files, handing over 200 to the state
attorney. Some 30 cars linked to the trafficking of women have been seized at
an average value of NIS 600,000 per vehicle.
Caspi reported that criminals smuggle and invest abroad most of the money
earned from trafficking in women, making it much harder to get a hold of the
funds.
Eitan Rub, director of the Israel Tax Authority, said that tax and police
agents had raided 150 brothels in the past year, and had assessed taxes and
seized money and property.
He said his authority must act to enforce the law and does not differentiate
between legal and illegal activities when it comes to organized crime, in
general, and brothels, in particular.
The Israel Tax Authority and the police concluded that convicting the criminal
was not enough because the economic fruits of his labor would be awaiting him
once he did his time. Thus, the war on crime necessitates fighting on both the
criminal and economic fronts.
Comment on this story,
click here.
Copyright 1999-2004, AsianSexGazette.com. All rights reserved. No
content may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission.
Please contact us via the link below for re-print and syndication policies.
|
|
Israel:
Granting the right to a call girl
1-3-2005
Knesset
okays bill to shut down places used for prostitution
10-14-2004
Human
trafficking in Israel described by police as a literal "meat market"
8-18-2004
Israeli
Minister calls for institutionalizing prostitution
7-6-2004
|
