Prostitutes get permits in Hungary

BUDAPEST, Hungary – In an effort to bring prostitutes into the legal economy, officials said Monday that Hungary will allow sex workers to apply for an entrepreneur’s permit — a move that could generate government revenues from an industry worth an estimated $1 billion annually.

Human rights groups often have criticized European Union member Hungary for legalizing prostitution — which has been fully allowed under certain conditions since 1999. Opponents say legalization does not help prostitutes.

The permits allow prostitutes to give receipts to customers and become part of the legal economy by paying taxes and making social security contributions, said Agnes Foldi, head of the Hungarian Prostitutes’ Interest Protection Association.

Hungary’s sex industry — including prostitution and the production of pornographic materials — generates an estimated $1 billion annually, said Agnes Bakonyi, the spokeswoman of Hungary’s tax authority APEH.

“It is one of the leading sectors of the shadow economy,” Bakonyi said. “With this project, APEH is trying to help a group of professionals, in what is called the world’s oldest profession, who have never paid taxes in their life.”

Prostitutes in Hungary, can work legally only within certain zones — distant from schools and churches — and must get regular medical checkups. Pimping and bordellos are banned.

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