The city of Bonn, trying desperately to make up for budget shortfalls, has instituted a tax on prostitution, which is legal in Germany. Since many sex workers are from overseas and don’t understand the language, Bonn officials have come up with a solution in the form of a “sex meter.” From Spiegel:

“The budget is tight in Bonn. So tight, in fact, that city officials instituted a new ‘sex tax’ for prostitution this year. They hoped to raise up to €200,000 per year in additional revenues.

Yet while it might sound straightforward enough, the sex tax has been difficult to enforce among those prostitutes who do not work in established brothels and sex clubs. Leading the city to come up with plan B: an automated ticket machine in an area frequented by prostitutes and their customers.

Since Monday, freelance sex workers on the city streets have been required to pay €6 per night into the machine, which resembles an automated parking ticket distributor. This machine, however, emits nightly permits to practice prostitution.”