Do T-Girl Escorts Pay Taxes?

[sensual_lover20]

Your thoughts?
If no, do you think they should?

[Foxy Basket]

I do, and I also write off a lot of expenses because of it. I've been an independent contractor for almost a decade, so the CRA doesn't even blink at my returns.

But then, that's me. I'm not doing it because of any sense of civic duty, or because I have some holier-than-thou attitude. I don't really have a choice. If I didn't pay my fair share of taxes, the government would wonder where I'm getting the money for my tuition, and they'd audit me in a heartbeat.

What other people do with their money is their own decision, but it's hard for the government to tell you that you should pay taxes, while at the same time, using laws to severely restrict your ability to do business.

As long as everything surrounding sex work remains criminalized, I don't think we have any responsibility to the CRA, or any other government body. It's not like we receive any workplace protections, nor are we eligible for worker's compensation if we fall down the stairs and break a leg. They don't give us anything back, so I don't think we owe them a damned thing.

Like I said, my choice to pay taxes is specific to my own situation; I won't make any moral judgements if someone else chooses not to.

[prettyboy]

Have you ever been charged GST by a hooker? I can't believe that many of the girls pay taxes, wouldn't there need to be invoices and receipts and all that boring accountancy shite [sorry SL just rattling your chain mate ]
Somehow I can't see the girls sending 20 or 30 grand to the taxman every year unless they had to, and I can't say that I blame them if they can get away with it.
Let us hope that prostitution is never legalized, decriminalized yes, but if it is legalized most of the thrill of the experience would be regulated away and it would become like those ranches in Vegas or the brothels in Berlin, as stimulating as going to Macdonalds.

[Tia Phoenixx]

Have you ever been charged GST by a hooker? I can't believe that many of the girls pay taxes, wouldn't there need to be invoices and receipts and all that boring accountancy shite [sorry SL just rattling your chain mate ]
Somehow I can't see the girls sending 20 or 30 grand to the taxman every year unless they had to, and I can't say that I blame them if they can get away with it.
Let us hope that prostitution is never legalized, decriminalized yes, but if it is legalized most of the thrill of the experience would be regulated away and it would become like those ranches in Vegas or the brothels in Berlin, as stimulating as going to Macdonalds.

wow..what a comment...very honest and precise.


And u r also right that hopefully escorting will never ever be legalized but only decriminalized in this country.
It gives us more freedom and errr..flexibility in declaring our taxes

important point that we tend to forget:
our era as an escort will be very short, so it is NOT fair to pay 50% of our income to the tax man, realizing that 3 years from now we might run out off clients or worse...murdered (Tula's case...?)

just my 2cents

T

P.s: oh..it's nothing to do with taxes but i'm so happy that i just bought a laptop...finally after 3 years..ha..ha..

[BlueJack]

"As long as everything surrounding sex work remains criminalized, I don't think we have any responsibility to the CRA, or any other government body. It's not like we receive any workplace protections, nor are we eligible for worker's compensation if we fall down the stairs and break a leg. They don't give us anything back, so I don't think we owe them a damned thing."

Its not all criminalized
you can be an escort do outcalls, just not solicit or run a bawdy house.

And yeah you probably do receive things back for your tax money.
Do you go to school?
yeah subsidized
Ever do any travelling? on city roads, highways, sidewalks?
subsidized.
Free condoms at the clinic?
Yeah subsidized

Just a few things that money trickles down to from the fed and provincial govt's , Our taxes go towards alot of things, some things you dont even think about.

No one likes taxes, but people not involved in the "black market" have all their income, investments etc notified to the government and have to pay. But when youre in a business that involves cash its real easy to not declare it. Servers dont declare all their tips, just like drug dealers dont declare all their income either. Its a gamble your taking. Can you launder the cash you have so its not noticeable? Really its not too hard if youre not making more than 100 000 grand a year.

Taxation has been around forever, if you can get away without paying for it go for it. But if you get caught thats tough luck, you knew what you were doing, you'll just have to face the consequences.

Sorry I just think that sure taxes suck, but they do help out the country and where we live. Sure some taxes are reallocated to things we dont like, but for other people its really important.

[Tia Phoenixx]

good post.

It is a dilemma, isn't it?

On the one hand, as you have mentioned, that almost everything sorroundings sex work remains criminalized. Except for outcall service, where the boundary is still very unclear and questionable.

On the other hand, we, escorts ( i hate the term sex workers. gosh..we do not entirely sell sex u know...), are somehow forced to declare our income. Due to several reasons actually.

And for me personally, i feel guilty by NOT declaring anything to the government.

So yes, at the end, i declare my income.

[Foxy Basket]

Taxes are everywhere, I'm not just talking about income taxes!

And yeah you probably do receive things back for your tax money.
Do you go to school?
yeah subsidized
Ever do any travelling? on city roads, highways, sidewalks?
subsidized.
Free condoms at the clinic?
Yeah subsidized

Gimme a fucking break - I pay taxes everytime I buy something, in the form of GST and/or PST (soon to be HST).

Subsidized school? Like the $150 Technology & Textbook Grant I got from the feds? Yeah, I pay income tax on that. The tiny scholarship I received in January? Yep, I pay income taxes on that too! I paid taxes on all of my textbooks as well.

Travelling? Yeah, I pay gas taxes every time I fill up at the pump. I pay service fees every time I renew my plates (including an extra $60 just for living in Toronto) and I pay sales taxes every time I buy windshield wipers, tires, or oil - I even pay Canadian Tire an extra "enviro tax" surcharge for the disposal of the oil that I've changed, even though they're not the ones disposing of it. I pay taxes when I pay to park my car, taxes when I go through the car wash, and taxes on everything my car requires.

Condoms? I get them from the Sexual Education Centre at U of T, which buys them with money that comes from my tuition fees.

So yes, the taxes I pay for my consumption are therefore spent on the services that I use - as well as those that I don't use.

Its not all criminalized
you can be an escort do outcalls, just not solicit or run a bawdy house

Are you fucking kidding me? That's the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard. The laws surrounding prostitution include:

S.210. (1) Every one who keeps a common bawdy-house is guilty of an indictable offence. . .

S.212. (1) Every one who (j ) lives wholly or in part on the avails of prostitution of another person, is guilty of an indictable offence. . .

S.213. (1) Every person who in a public place or in any place open to public view (c) stops or attempts to stop any person or in any manner communicates or attempts to communicate with any person. . .

These laws have been interpreted so broadly that "bawdy house" includes my own apartment. "Communicate" means literally any communication, and "public place" includes anywhere that could be viewed by a member of the public - so newspapers, internet sites, and anywhere else.

So, it's just like telling a doctor, "oh, you're allowed to practise medicine, you're just not allowed to do so in your own office, and you're not allowed to tell anyone what services you offer, or how much it'll cost, and you're not allowed to advertise anywhere."

Or telling a mechanic, "oh, you can fix cars, you're just not allowed to do it in your own shop. You have to fix it in someone else's garage, where nobody can see it, and you're not allowed to tell them which parts they need to fix, or give them any price quotes either."

So basically, I'm not allowed to tell anyone what I do, how I do it, or how much it costs; also, if they want me to do something, I have to go to their place. I'm sure my safety won't be compromised at all, and I'm equally sure that plenty of my clients would loooooooooove to invite an escort into their home when their wives and kids are there!

Suggesting that the laws don't severely restrict my safety and income potential is absolutely ludicrous. The laws force me into less-safe conditions, limit my ability to advertise or promote myself like any other businessperson, and significantly reduce my ability to earn income. Not to mention the complete and total lack of workplace protections, access to EI, inability to insure myself or receive bankruptcy protections as a normal business, or my ability to seek compensation for any "on-the-job hazards" (such as rape or robbery) that other small business owners enjoy.

NO, I don't think the government has any moral basis for enforcing INCOME TAX against people in the sex trade. The law when it makes it almost impossible for me to earn income in a safe, fair manner, so until they start providing us with the same protections as everyone else, I feel no moral duty whatsoever to pay income taxes like everyone else. I do it out of necessity, not out of responsibility - and suggesting the law doesn't work against us is flat-out ridiculous.

[BlueJack]

All im going to say is you should take a few economics courses while youre at u of t and learn abit more about taxes, and you'd be surprised what you school would cost, driving on roads would costs, taking the bus etc if they werent subsidized through taxes.

and yeah you read me back the laws and basically they say the exact same thing I said, just said how its so hard for you to work with the way its set up. Thats the way it was designed. Society decided they dont want whore houses, prostitutes on the streets etc. So yeah they made the laws that way. You made the choice to work in that field, you have to figure out how to keep it legal or run the risks, same as the taxes. You choose to not report all your income, you run the risk of being caught.

Dont make it sound like youre so hard done by. Most people on here went through school, paid all the taxes you pay, and than paid all the taxes because all their income is declared by their employers.

I dont think Escorts t girls or real girls declare all their income, I have nothing against it I am sure I'd be tempted to do it as well. Im just saying overall in the grand scheme of things, I dont think people should get a free ride on taxes. Thats the only issue I have with your statement Nikki, it makes you sound like you deserve special treatment

[gudarian]

No way they should pay taxes. Bartenders and servers don't for the most part pay taxes. In fact I believe that none of us should pay taxes.
The government should defend the country, delivery the mail and collect the garbage that is it.

[aguyoutthere1]

I shouldn't get started here but so many things are being missed. The fact that so many people don't pay taxes is one of the reasons the rest of us pay so much. And the jobs we are going to create, are some of the biggest offenders in under the table dealings. (Construction, renovations etc.). Unfortunately this will not stimulate the economy, it will simply provide jobs to the freeloaders that work under that table and provide profit for the contractors that hire them.

I'm curious what job title escorts show on their taxes? I understand not declaring all of your taxes, but to say that the government owes you because you can not work as long as other people is just not true? Get a real job for God's sake. Do you think models don't pay taxes? My business could go under in any year and I'd have to get another job or start another business. I don't get to, not pay taxes, because I want ot retire early. I bet you all take advantage of our free healthcare. I wonder how that is paid for. OUR TAXES. Who pays for the cops that keep us from anarchy in the streets. OUR TAXES. Did we all go to school for some education growing up. Who paid for that?

My small business has to have records. I pay about 20% on my business profits. Let's say about $30,000.00 a year for the last couple of good years. (That will change this year.) Then my personal taxes, somewhere near 25% after RRSP deductions so another $40,000.00 for the household. So alone, my 3 person family pays $70,000.00 in taxes per year. That ridiculous amount is to compensate the freeloaders that take advantage of the system. If that is you, sorry but it's the truth. It you can't handle the system you are in, move away.

I guess it would be easy to not pay any taxes or pay minimal taxes as an escort. You can simply move often, never have any stability in life, and hope they never catch up to you. For those that do it, good luck with that.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. As simple as this statement is, life has a way of giving to the givers and taking from the takers.

[aguyoutthere1]

No way they should pay taxes. Bartenders and servers don't for the most part pay taxes. In fact I believe that none of us should pay taxes.
The government should defend the country, delivery the mail and collect the garbage that is it.

You really thought that one through. And reminded me of other services we take for granted. No taxes equals no government, no army, no healthcare, no police, no education, no roads, no bridges, no mail, no garbage collection. The country would become one where only the strong survive, and take advantage of the weak.

Please don't point out every flaw in each part of our system, it is the one we have, the one we voted for (or not) but the best possible system we could come up with. If you can't accept it, change it.

[Tia Phoenixx]

I shouldn't get started here but so many things are being missed. The fact that so many people don't pay taxes is one of the reasons the rest of us pay so much. And the jobs we are going to create, are some of the biggest offenders in under the table dealings. (Construction, renovations etc.). Unfortunately this will not stimulate the economy, it will simply provide jobs to the freeloaders that work under that table and provide profit for the contractors that hire them.

I'm curious what job title escorts show on their taxes? I understand not declaring all of your taxes, but to say that the government owes you because you can not work as long as other people is just not true? Get a real job for God's sake. Do you think models don't pay taxes? My business could go under in any year and I'd have to get another job or start another business. I don't get to, not pay taxes, because I want ot retire early. I bet you all take advantage of our free healthcare. I wonder how that is paid for. OUR TAXES. Who pays for the cops that keep us from anarchy in the streets. OUR TAXES. Did we all go to school for some education growing up. Who paid for that?

My small business has to have records. I pay about 20% on my business profits. Let's say about $30,000.00 a year for the last couple of good years. (That will change this year.) Then my personal taxes, somewhere near 25% after RRSP deductions so another $40,000.00 for the household. So alone, my 3 person family pays $70,000.00 in taxes per year. That ridiculous amount is to compensate the freeloaders that take advantage of the system. If that is you, sorry but it's the truth. It you can't handle the system you are in, move away.

I guess it would be easy to not pay any taxes or pay minimal taxes as an escort. You can simply move often, never have any stability in life, and hope they never catch up to you. For those that do it, good luck with that.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. As simple as this statement is, life has a way of giving to the givers and taking from the takers.

TRUE. And and I like your last statement KC.."what goes around comes around.."

As an escort, yes some of us pay only little part of our income or not at all.
For a short run, it sounds great....get the money without taxes.

However, as Nikki and you have mentioned, we do not have any protection from the goverment as well as no stability in our lives.

Yes, it will definitely catch us up in a long run.

For escorts, it is important to save our money, because our time is ticking.
We never know about the economy, future competition, and the cycle of the business.
And as i said before..it may happen that we run out of clients or worse..got STD, molested, harrassed...and the worst...murdered.

T

[Andrew69]

Gimme a fucking break - I pay taxes everytime I buy something, in the form of GST and/or PST (soon to be HST).

Subsidized school? Like the $150 Technology & Textbook Grant I got from the feds? Yeah, I pay income tax on that. The tiny scholarship I received in January? Yep, I pay income taxes on that too! I paid taxes on all of my textbooks as well.

Travelling? Yeah, I pay gas taxes every time I fill up at the pump. I pay service fees every time I renew my plates (including an extra $60 just for living in Toronto) and I pay sales taxes every time I buy windshield wipers, tires, or oil - I even pay Canadian Tire an extra "enviro tax" surcharge for the disposal of the oil that I've changed, even though they're not the ones disposing of it. I pay taxes when I pay to park my car, taxes when I go through the car wash, and taxes on everything my car requires.

Condoms? I get them from the Sexual Education Centre at U of T, which buys them with money that comes from my tuition fees.

So yes, the taxes I pay for my consumption are therefore spent on the services that I use - as well as those that I don't use.


Are you fucking kidding me? That's the biggest load of garbage I've ever heard. The laws surrounding prostitution include:

S.210. (1) Every one who keeps a common bawdy-house is guilty of an indictable offence. . .

S.212. (1) Every one who (j ) lives wholly or in part on the avails of prostitution of another person, is guilty of an indictable offence. . .

S.213. (1) Every person who in a public place or in any place open to public view (c) stops or attempts to stop any person or in any manner communicates or attempts to communicate with any person. . .

These laws have been interpreted so broadly that "bawdy house" includes my own apartment. "Communicate" means literally any communication, and "public place" includes anywhere that could be viewed by a member of the public - so newspapers, internet sites, and anywhere else.

So, it's just like telling a doctor, "oh, you're allowed to practise medicine, you're just not allowed to do so in your own office, and you're not allowed to tell anyone what services you offer, or how much it'll cost, and you're not allowed to advertise anywhere."

Or telling a mechanic, "oh, you can fix cars, you're just not allowed to do it in your own shop. You have to fix it in someone else's garage, where nobody can see it, and you're not allowed to tell them which parts they need to fix, or give them any price quotes either."

So basically, I'm not allowed to tell anyone what I do, how I do it, or how much it costs; also, if they want me to do something, I have to go to their place. I'm sure my safety won't be compromised at all, and I'm equally sure that plenty of my clients would loooooooooove to invite an escort into their home when their wives and kids are there!

Suggesting that the laws don't severely restrict my safety and income potential is absolutely ludicrous. The laws force me into less-safe conditions, limit my ability to advertise or promote myself like any other businessperson, and significantly reduce my ability to earn income. Not to mention the complete and total lack of workplace protections, access to EI, inability to insure myself or receive bankruptcy protections as a normal business, or my ability to seek compensation for any "on-the-job hazards" (such as rape or robbery) that other small business owners enjoy.

NO, I don't think the government has any moral basis for enforcing INCOME TAX against people in the sex trade. The law when it makes it almost impossible for me to earn income in a safe, fair manner, so until they start providing us with the same protections as everyone else, I feel no moral duty whatsoever to pay income taxes like everyone else. I do it out of necessity, not out of responsibility - and suggesting the law doesn't work against us is flat-out ridiculous.

Give me a break, you choose your professional, no one forced you. Why don't you flip burgers to put yourself through school like 1000s of other students?

Everyone else pays the same retail taxes as yourself plus Income tax. No free ride for the rest of us. I paid taxes on all my text books when I was in school as well. Now I pay income tax for the roads, the hospitals, the social services, the infrastructure. Take a tour to a third world country where few people pay income taxe and see how you like it. It pisses me off when people want all the advantages of living in Canada yet they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes like everyone else.

If being an escort is so horrible, try a job at minimum wage, to put yourself through school, and relieve yourself of the burden.

[alyssa1]

i pay taxes

If u read her original statement did she not mention she pays taxes? maybe im overseing something here? I dont agreewith paying taxes but i do pay taxes as i write a few things off and im capable of doing so without raising suspicion.

[Foxy Basket]

Once again. . .

There were two questions in the original post, and they don't have the same answer. So, to reiterate with more details:

#1: Do T-Girl escorts pay taxes?

I can't speak for others, but I certainly do; I've paid taxes every year since I was 16 years old. I track both my income and expenses very carefully. I keep all my receipts, credit card statements, and bank records, and enter them into a spreadsheet, so I know exactly how much I earn and spend in any given year. I pay taxes at the same rate as other independent contractors, and I regularly consult with my accountant.

I even provide receipts to those who request them (which, to date, has been exactly one person, but I printed out an invoice on my computer in less than two minutes; I'm not sure what he claimed it as, though!). Hell, I even have a GST number! My girlfriend is a registered CMA, and probably knows more about accounting than 95% of the people on here (SL20 being a notable exception) so I assure you, my books are in perfect order.

It seems like people assume I make hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet don't pay a penny; truth is, I don't make anywhere near that kind of money. I actually made more money before transition than I make now.

I earn a moderate amount of income, but work very little; I see a couple of clients per week, which covers my living expenses and tuition; and I spend the rest of my time studying and going to school. If I were working 40 hours a week in a mid-level management position (roughly equivalent to what I did before) I'd be making significantly more than I do now, but I wouldn't have nearly as much time to study.

I chose this profession because of the flexibility it provides, not because I want to retire at 35; I'm actually a girl of simple tastes. So if you're still insisting on the "pay your fair share" argument, give it up already. Most of you probably make more than I do, and I'm sure plenty of you write off your expenses in the same way. That's not cheating the system, that's smart business management.

#2: Do you think they should?

Like I said before, that's up to them, but I still maintain that if you want escorts to pay taxes at the same rate as the general public, escorts should receive the same protections and opportunities as the general public. As it stands, the profession of prostitution is more restricted than any other I can think of.

"Should" implies that there's some sort of moral or social requirement to do so. To me, these things function both ways. If you want to justify taxation, then you should give people the opportunity to make as much as possible - which in turn, will provide the highest amounts of tax revenue. Remove those restrictions, and people will invariably earn more; therefore, they'll also pay more taxes.

It doesn't seem like people here have any moral objection to prostitution per se; don't you agree that we should receive the same rights as the rest of you? Instead of merely insisting that we pay the same amount of taxes? These things go hand-in-hand; until incentives are provided for escorts to work more and declare their income, it's ridiculous to expect them to pay taxes without getting the same benefits as everyone else. It's not like we can claim EI during a slow month, or collect disability after breaking a leg - fairness should extend in both directions, and it's certainly not extended towards us.

That's it, I'm done - you guys can fight it out, I have nothing more to say about this. If you need to know more, ask my accountant.