BONN: The German city of Bonn introduced a parking meter for prostitutes today, requiring street sex workers to pay 6 euros (R61) in tax per night to carry on their trade.
Bonn is the first German city to introduce the meter system. It already taxes women working in brothels. City officials say the tax will raise 200 000 euros annually from about 200 women in the trade.
Prostitutes will pay the fee by feeding coins into the electronic meter and receive an automatically printed ticket, which they must show on demand to tax inspectors sent to check.
Sex workers are only allowed on one street in the city. Last year, authorities erected six parking bays, surrounded by wooden screens on three sides, permitting clients to meet prostitutes without being watched from other parked cars. - Sapa-dpa