In Lithuania, prostitution or escort services are illegal. However, a recent update to the self-employed database has added sex work to the registry.
Following the update, the self-employed code 96.99 in the registry now includes astrology activities, spiritualism, as well as sex work or operating a brothel.
The State Data Agency, which updated the list, said the registry includes employment not only in Lithuania but also internationally – sex work, for example, is legal in the Netherlands. However, it did not make the work legal in Lithuania.
“The classifier is designed in such a way that any activity, whether it is legal or illegal, can be classified somewhere,” said Lina Kulionienė, head of the standards division of the State Data Agency.
Members of the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs said the situation was bizarre, which was the result of blindly copying European legal documents.
“Perhaps no one is immune from mistakes, and in this case, such regulations have been transposed without taking into account our legal environment,” said Vitalijus Gailius, vice-chairman of the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs.
The accountants' representative said the self-employment classification, even for illegal activities, is useful for tax collection.
“You can never escape taxes,” said president of the Association of Accountants and Auditors Daiva Čibirienė, adding that illegal earnings are also subject to taxation.
Previously, the state confiscated 100,000 euros from a pimp – he then also had to pay taxes on his illicit earnings.
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