Many of Nevada�s brothel owners, who escaped a state tax on a technicality during the 2003 Legislature, are offering to levy two taxes on themselves that would bring the state about $1 million annually, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The proposal, in a bill sponsored by state Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, is the only bill that has been introduced at the 2005 Legislature that adds a tax, lawmakers said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn and many state lawmakers vowed not to propose any new taxes in the 2005 Legislature, since the 2003 session produced a record $836 million tax hike.

But brothel owners feared lawmakers eventually would impose a more onerous tax on their industry if they did not present a proposal first, said George Flint, executive director of the Nevada Brothel Owners Association.

�We think this is wise for our long-term survival,� Flint said. �If we didn�t do this as an industry, at some point in time, the Legislature may give us something that we can�t live with.�

The Nevada Brothel Owners Association represents about 18 of Nevada�s 27 legal brothels, making up about 90 percent of the state�s legalized prostitution business, Flint said.

Some brothel owners not in the association oppose the idea, said Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch and the BunnyRanch, two brothels near Mound House in Lyon County.

Brothels are already heavily taxed in rural counties where they are legal, with some paying as much as $100,000 or $120,000 in county taxes annually, Hof and Flint said.

�If the state needs the money, then they should take it from the county because they get an enormous amount of money from us,� Hof said.

�Now our money goes to buy the police cars in Lyon County, and they are very nice police cars,� Hof said.

Nevada�s brothels were expecting to be included in the live entertainment tax passed in the 2003 session, Flint said.

The industry escaped when the entertainment tax proposal was rewritten late in the session to only include venues with 300 or more seats. That technicality excluded brothels, since the seating capacity of entertainment venues did not apply to brothels, Flint said.

Under the owners� proposal, brothel customers who enter a prostitute�s room to engage in sex would be charged an estimated $20 admission fee with 10 percent of that going to the state, Flint said.

That $20 would also be credited to the total amount the customer spends but would be part of the brothel�s take on the sexual transaction. Usually, brothels and courtesans split fees 50-50, Flint said. No tax would be taken from the courtesans, who are employed as independent contractors, Flint said.

The state would also collect a 10 percent excise tax on food, drinks and souvenirs sold at the brothel under the proposal, Flint said.

�We�re also paying a 7 percent sales tax on the bar so when you add the sales tax and the excise tax at the bar, on a $5 drink, 17 percent will be taxed,� Flint said.

The proposal to tax brothels probably would be rolled into legislation that would restructure the live entertainment tax, Leslie said.

State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, and the chairman of the Senate Taxation Committee, said he also expected legislation to kill the live entertainment tax.

Leslie said she would sponsor the brothel tax legislation although she is not a proponent of the brothel industry.

�The ironic thing about this is personally, I would probably vote to ban brothels,� Leslie said. �I�m not a zealot about it, and I think public sentiment is very strongly in favor of brothels in rural counties.�

Imposing a state tax on brothels would help legitimize the business, Leslie said.

�That does make me a bit uncomfortable,� Leslie said. �But on the other hand, they are a legitimate business now and how refreshing is it to have a legitimate business that wants to participate in the tax structure.�