Remember escorts.com?

[Jenny Eve]

E com was charged for tax evasion! The whole mess began with a few underage girls getting busted. They told LE about ecom... LE could NOT shut Ecom down for prostitution related charges however, they did turn it over to federal investigators who found that ecom broke several laws in regard to revenue.
1. They did NOT pay taxes... Enter IRS agents crawling all over ecom.
2. ecom used credit cards as a means of age verification on accounts. (among other things) The problem there? It is illegal to accept said information without charging the card! If they had simply charged $1.00 to the cards they had in their database...they would not have had that particular problem.
3. Sites like ecom are NOT illegal in the US. They are however, subject to the same laws which govern ALL adult based websites. As well as Business and revenue laws. (laws they clearly broke)

The 2 sure things in life are: Taxes and Death! They did not pay their taxes hence the death of their business.
ecom settled out of court on Tax evasion, revenue and fraudulent business practice related charges.

That is the inside scoop that I got.

[TechOne]

escorts.com brought on the attention of LE...they would flip flop on their willingness to allow "fake" profiles on their site. Often, when a provider was busted, they would be forced to give LE their account, or LE would post their own "provider" without verification from hobbyist. LE would post their own reviews of their own profile thus setting up a fool-proof sting...I pressed this issue with escorts.com several times without much movement on their part. They choose not to discuss it much, yet when they finally resisted LE involvement in their site, they were then "targeted"...if you lay down with dogs, you get up with fleas, and worse.

[Bigh1955]

Originally Posted by Fancyinheels

Doesn't seem to bode well for ECCIE, Backpage, TER, or any other site with escort ads.

Seems like the powers that be would be happy that prostitution is on the Net privately rather than walking the streets publicly. Why is America, land of the free, home of the brave, so afraid of sexuality, the adult entertainment trade, and P4P? The government should just legalize the oldest, most prevalent worldwide profession, clean it up, tax it, and require licensing fees. Forget the paperwork revenue; just diverting the money LE spends now enforcing laws to "protect our morals" could be so much more helpful, say, with the war on drugs and gang violence.

I don't get it and never will.

HURRAY! Here in the good ole USofA the annual revenue generated by prostitution is conservatively estimated at $3.6billion. Taxed at 15% on a state level it would generate $540million in tax revenue annually. It's not huge, but if it were legal...more people would play. Thanks Fancyinheels

[atxdream]

Originally Posted by Bigh1955

HURRAY! Here in the good ole USofA the annual revenue generated by prostitution is conservatively estimated at $3.6billion. Taxed at 15% on a state level it would generate $540million in tax revenue annually. It's not huge, but if it were legal...more people would play. Thanks Fancyinheels

Legalize the hobby? IMO where that's been done such as Nevada, the only parties that benefit are the IRS and brothel owners.

[texasgoldengirl]

Decriminalize, not legalize. All the benefits without the government inside your bedroom (and elsewhere).

Amanda

[Likinikki]

Decriminalize +1

[atxdream]

Decriminalize would be better but imagine what would happen... Every housewife to college cutie would start charging... Rates would plummet, but at the same time it would be nearly impossible for men to find free pussy.

[LilRed]

Originally Posted by Bigh1955

HURRAY! Here in the good ole USofA the annual revenue generated by prostitution is conservatively estimated at $3.6billion. Taxed at 15% on a state level it would generate $540million in tax revenue annually. It's not huge, but if it were legal...more people would play.

I donated my share to the IRS and to the state. As a small business owner I paid my taxes TWICE. Once for the business as an entertainer and once for me as an individual. If all the providers did this they would have a ton of money from us. Tax evasion was one reason I did it but I am also trying to buy a house and had to show income for the missing years I have been a provider. It helped me buy a new car and get my credit score up to where I needed it. I think in the end it is all about them getting their share. It is the local LE that want to get us. The IRS could care less what we do to get the money as long as they get their share.

[alluringava]

Of all the months I was on escorts.com I never got ONE single client from there and I knew a ton of girls where that site was their sole source of business. I wonder if the site was more popular in certain regions than others.

[texasgoldengirl]

ATXdream -- Western countries that are decriminalized (UK/NZ/parts of Australia) have higher average rates than the US, fewer problem clients and a thriving industry. Decrim won't drive rates down, unless you consider those $40 "specials" on Backpage to be high rates.

I daresay that clients are happier overall as well -- plenty of choice and the ability to have an open dialogue with their providers.

Sure, there will be plenty of women who give it a try, at first. Those who are suited will stay with it, those who aren't will leave. Just like now, only without the potential of an arrest record to taint their lives afterward.

There really isn't any upside to being labeled a criminal.

Amanda

[Bigh1955]

As much as rational people may argue for decriminalization, the social and political reality is this will not likely happen in our lifetime. As Jenny Eve points out, prosecution for tax evasion (and possibly money-laundering) will likely remain the Feds primary plan of attack because, well, the punishment is more harsh, unless underage people are involved.

I found the entire e.com issue unnerving on many levels. Given the government's demonstrated willingness to inject itself into every facet of ordinary citizen's lives, I'm surprised no one was arrested or questioned as a result of the reviews. Oh wait...that may still be in the wings.

[atxdream]

Originally Posted by texasgoldengirl

ATXdream -- Western countries that are decriminalized (UK/NZ/parts of Australia) have higher average rates than the US, fewer problem clients and a thriving industry. Decrim won't drive rates down, unless you consider those $40 "specials" on Backpage to be high rates.

I guess I would have to see statistics on how much actually lands in the ladies pocket vs the brothel owners etc. I heard that in the camps in India, the girls are charged huge fees for rent, food, etc. Well so are the ladies in Nevada. Some do really well there, but the vast majority pay most of their donations back to the "house" for health screenings, rent, food, driver fees, licenses etc.

I'm not saying it can't work, I just think our govt would regulate it to death, the brothels would take a huge cut, and the girls would be working hard for not that much. I'll let you have the last say bc I know its a controversial topic & I've said my piece.

[texasgoldengirl]

ATXDream -- Please reread what I said. I was discussing decriminalization in Western countries. Not legalization (e.g. Nevada brothels). Prostitution is not completely legal in India and brothels are illegal, BTW. Let me make it very clear I was talking about independent sex workers, not workers in a brothel (though in decrim'ed countries, brothels have to abide by labor laws and OSHA rules, unlike this country).

Bigh1955 -- Doesn't mean I have to roll over and give up, though.

Amanda