Proposed Nev. prostitution tax dies on panel vote

[April 10, 2009]  CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- A proposal to levy a $5 tax on sex acts in Nevada has died in a state Senate committee.

The 3-4 vote Thursday in the Nevada Senate Taxation Committee was one shy of the four needed to keep the proposal afloat.

The committee chairman, Bob Coffin, a Las Vegas Democrat  who sponsored the bill, says the state is desperate for revenue and has not collected taxes from prostitution since it was legalized in some rural counties more than 30 years ago.

Sen. Mike McGinness, a Republican from Fallon who voted against the tax, says he wouldn't support a new tax on services.

Coffin has estimated the tax would've raised at least $2 million a year. Nevada is facing a more than $2.8 billion revenue shortfall.

[Associated Press; By BRENDAN RILEY]

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