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Austria’s ‘free sex’ brothel owner arrested in tax dispute

An Austrian brothel owner who made worldwide headlines in 2015 when he offered free sex to punters as a protest against paying tax has once again run into trouble with the taxman.

Austria's 'free sex' brothel owner arrested in tax dispute
Herman Pascha/Youtube

Hermann Müller, 62, who runs the Pascha brothels in Linz, Graz and Salzburg, spent ten hours in a jail cell on Wednesday night after being arrested in connection to the latest tax scandal.

After his release, the brothel king – who is accused of evading €1.2 million in tax – described his stay in prison as “not bad” and told Heute newspaper: “The prison was better than many hotels.”

According to Müller, the authorities want him to employ the women who work in the brothels. “But I cannot and will not do that,” he said.

The Pascha boss made international headlines in June 2015 when he said he would offer free sex to punters all summer in protest of what he saw as punitive taxation of his businesses.

Men were reportedly queuing round the block at the establishments after the business posted online: “We are not paying taxes any more. Effective immediately: Free Entrance! Free Drinks! Free Sex!”

At the time of the announcement, Müller said he would compensate the up to €10,000 a month that prostitutes would forego in the giveaway.

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Mandatory contact tracing in Zurich brothels stirs controversy

A lawyer for the Zurich sex industry is taking legal action against new tracing rules being implemented for prostitutes working in the Swiss canton.

Mandatory contact tracing in Zurich brothels stirs controversy
A prostitute walks by 'sex boxes' which Zurich set for their safety. Photo by AFP

Starting on October 1st, Zurich has mandated stricter protection rules in the brothels.

Sex workers must now not only collect their customers’ ID and contact details, but also check on the spot whether the cell phone numbers provided by the clients are correct.

But Valentin Landmann, a legal counsel for Zurich’s sex work industry, filed an appeal against the new regulations, claiming they “violate the principle of equality”.

“These conditions are more extreme than in any other profession involving physical contact”, he told SRF television in an interview.

Landmann added that stricter measures are not necessary in the sex trade.

“The normal protection concepts are already being observed. So far, there have been no coronavirus cases in legal companies”.

However, Zurich authorities see it differently.

The cantonal director of security Mario Fehr told SRF that the new measures are necessary to ensure effective contact tracing, so that clients can be informed in case a coronavirus infection occurs in the brothel.

He added that if establishments fail to adhere to the requirements “we will close these businesses”.

READ MORE: Five things about Switzerland that may surprise foreign residents 

Prostitution is legal in Switzerland and considered as a ‘regular’ service industry, with the same rights and obligations as other sectors, including declaring income and paying taxes.

In May, the brothels implemented safety rules for workers and clients to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections. 

The measures include ventilation in rooms, the use of gloves, condoms and disinfectants, and washing of sheets after each client. 

Also, sessions should be kept to a maximum of 15 minutes, and kissing – which was already rare before the measures came into place – is strongly discouraged.
 

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