Strange

Gelsenkirchen, Germany: Sex Tax and Porn Services at City Hall?

by Tina Kells | September 16, 2009 at 08:42 am

5295 views | 22 Recommendations | 2 comments

The German town of Gelsenkirchen is under fire after its official website appeared to offer porn as one of the services City Hall provides to residents. Gelsenkirchen does not provide porn services of any kind, but a search of the site suggests otherwise as porn is listed as a predetermined category on a list of city services.

The reason for the apparent advertising of porn services mistake is actually rather innocent. Gelsenkirchen is a city where brothels are legal and there is a "sex tax" associated with doing business. A city worker thought that brothel owners looking for information about Gelsenkirchen's "sex tax" may search the site using the word "porn."

"It was a mistake," said a spokesman for the city authorities Tuesday. "There was never any intention of the city providing pornography as a service."

The administrative error arose when an employee compiling the list thought that brothel owners might type "porn" into the search box to find out about the city's sex tax, he added.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 13:14 on September 16th, 2009

Finally a story that puts a smile on your face. Gelsenkirchen is in the Ruhr Valley. Brothels in Germany have been legal forever.

Barbara McPherson

at 17:46 on September 16th, 2009

What do the 'workers' get for their taxes I wonder. If the businesses are legal they should be accepted as readily and given the same free advertising as the local churches.