Ukraine, which is dealing with a war for more than four years now, has one issue which is turning heads within its domestic politics - whether pornography should be legalised and taxed. Unlike a number of European countries, production, distribution as well as possession of pornographic material is illegal in Ukraine.
However, despite their strict rules, the country has not been able to curb the shadowy pornographic industry growing within its borders, which some believe thrives with the help of corrupt police officials, the Wall Street Journal said in a report.
Now Ukraine is contemplating tapping into this industry by taxing people involved in the country's porn industry. However, this can prove to be a double-edged sword for those complying - while they will agree to pay taxes, they will also be confirming that they have been involved in an activity that the country's laws deem illegal.
An opposition lawmaker who is trying to legalise the porn industry in the country told WSJ in this regard, “These women either don’t pay taxes and face criminal charges for that, or they pay taxes and get charged with violating pornography laws,” adding, “It’s a tragicomic situation.”
Yaroslav Zhelezniak, the lawmaker who is also the chair of the finance committee in Ukraine’s Parliament, said that if porn is legalised in Ukraine, besides helping against corruption, the move would generate an additional $25 million per year in tax revenues for the government.
The country is in need of funds as its war with Russia strains its resources (it reportedly needs $120 billion every year for defense), and this revenue can be a substantial addition to its war funds.
How do Ukraine's OnlyFans stars skirt the law?
A number of women who have adult content accounts on video-streaming platform OnlyFans operate from abroad or sometimes move out of Ukraine altogether.
A model WSJ spoke to leaves her home in Ukraine every few weeks to travel to a rented villa on the Mediterranean coast in France or Spain where she streams solo shows on OnlyFans.
Performers like her end up paying taxes to the countries they operate out of, thus draining money which could have gone to the Ukrainian government.
This exercise is so common that hundreds of OnlyFans models have left the country to work abroad, with one such model telling WSJ that the country of Georgia now has a large community of such models who make thousands of dollars every month.
Fenix International, the parent company of OnlyFans, revealed two years into the Ukraine war that in 2023 alone, Ukrainians made more than $131 million from the platform, which meant millions in taxes were owed to the government.
Ukraine's porn industry operated in the shadows
As per the WSJ report, the porn industry in Ukraine has been operating for a number of years in the shadows, with sections of the authority turning a blind eye and sometimes being in cahoots with the largest porn studios in the country.
The country's general prosecutors' office said said police departments in three different regions of the country have been receiving more than $20,000 per month in bribes.
