Brothels and prostitution in general nave often served as a taxable source of revenue for municipalities, church, etc. One Pope, Clement II, even found a way of taxing prostitutes after they had died. He issued a bull requiring anyone who had ever engaged in prostitution to leave half of her property to the Church (if she had not made the contribution earlier). Prostitution was taxed in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, France, and elsewhere. In Nuremberg in the Fifteenth Century, money spent visiting prostitutes was tax-deductible. No, I don't advise you to try it on your next income-tax return!