What percent of sex workers would you say pay taxes on sex work?

Even if I were inside the IRS, I couldn't throw out a reasonable guess: because prostitution is illegal almost everywhere in the US, and sex work more broadly — porn, stripping, etc. — carries such a huge social stigma, sex workers who file their taxes don't often claim "sex worker" as a profession on their taxes. The thing is, even though we face the risk of arrest, harassment, and social isolation for our work, we're still supposed to pay taxes on our income. How many do? It varies by industry. Strippers, phone sex operators, and porn performers work in slightly more formalized workplaces than escorts and massage parlor workers. They may even get W2's or 1099's.

Do you think MOST of them do? Or is there no way to say?

We put so much money back into the economy — hotel rooms, air travel, work clothes (the whole Pleaser company, which sells stripper shoes, would not exist without us), cabs, sex toy shops — all of which is taxed at point of sale. This idea that just because prostitution is illegal or sex work is part of the underground economy means we don't pay taxes is totally false. We just want to get something back for it, you know? And "sin taxes" on porn or strip clubs are always getting proposed as a way to financially punish people in the sex industry, or customers. In California they actually wanted to use a tax on strip clubs to raise money for domestic violence programs — as if strippers were somehow responsible? It's a hot button issue.