According to the report of BILD, several unmarked vehicles and a dozen police cars arrived at Pascha brothel in Berlin, on Saturday, June 8. Police officers and tax investigators entered the large brothel, looking for evidence of tax evasion.
According to the brothel owner, the investigators arrived at that time because that’s when the business started and all of the sex workers were in the house. The investigators were specifically looking for the women and reminded them to file their taxes.
The sex workers should pay taxes
Every sex worker is subject to income, sales, and business taxes. Many of them pay a flat rate in advance (a.k.a. Düsseldorf Procedure). As the brothel owner said, between 35 and 70 women work in the brothel, and each girl should pay a flat rate of 15 euros per day to the tax office. He also said that they collect approximately 30,000 euros monthly. He is the responsible person to collect these amounts and pay them to the tax office at the end of the month or quarter.
It seems the owner did not pay the taxes. As he said, he paid the flat rates to the tax office for 2 years, and when the rate was changed to 20 EUR per day, he forgot to raise it. When the rate changed again to 35 EUR per day, he opted out because that would scare away the customers, and he might shut down the place.
The tax investigators told the owner that they will be back in three weeks.
The brothel has a long history
This brothel was opened in 1972 as “Eros Center” to eliminate the red-light district in Cologne. A new owner renamed it to “Pascha” in 1995, and since then, this name has been used for this huge building. It has 7 floors and 126 rooms.
We have also reported about this place many times. The original owner was sentenced to 3 years in prison for tax evasion. In 2020, the brothel filed for bankruptcy because of the coronavirus-related laws and restrictions.
In 2021, the brothel was sold to a new owner for 11 million euros. Since then, the authorities have continuously checked the brothel; this was the second raid in the hotel this year.
Read our other news as well
A Romanian man was refused entry to a Swiss brothel, sparking a debate about discrimination and customer rights in the adult entertainment industry. The young man says that he was refused because of his nationality, as his friend from a different nation was allowed to enter easily. Read the full story here.
During a routine inspection at a local brothel, a Romanian prostitute was found working without a valid health certificate, and she had gonorrhea. The brothel owner was also cited to appear before the court, as he allegedly knew that the sex worker was sick and let her work. Read the article here.
A brothel owner in Graz protested with mannequins before his brothel against illegal apartment prostitution in the city. He said to the reporters that the number of illegal prostitutes is increasing, causing significant loss to the legal brothel owners and to the economy. However, the local police chief denied these allegations and said that the situation is not as bad as the owner claims. Read the article here.
