Federal Fiscal Court: Prostitutes must pay trade tax

The Federal Fiscal Court has clarified important details on the subject of trade tax for prostitutes. In doing so, it overturned another ruling from 1964 that said income from “commercial fornication” was “other income” and therefore not subject to trade tax, but taxable under income tax, n-tv reports. The old ruling was “outdated,” the Federal Fiscal Court said in its ruling. Since there is an intention to make a profit and participation in general economic traffic is seen, it is clear that trade tax must be levied on self-employed prostitutes, it said. Because the trade tax is credited against the income tax, nothing usually changes for the prostitutes. The addressat of the money makes the difference: the trade tax goes to the municipalities, the income tax is shared between the federal government, the states and the municipalities. Financial disadvantages can only arise if the local assessment rate is very high.