Peepshows, in which women are paid by the minute to perform sexual acts, can be artistic but are not art, says Cees van Ballegooijen, advocate general to the Supreme Court. Tickets are therefore subject to the standard 19% VAT rate.

The Supreme Court is currently considering a finance ministry appeal against a controversial lower court ruling which likened such sex shows to traditional theatre.
In his advice, Van Ballegooijen says that peepshows are a product of the sex industry in which the visitor’s pleasure is the only aim. The shows are clearly not a performance of music, theatre, literature or science and therefore do not qualify for the 6% VAT rate, the advocate general said.
It is not known when the Supreme Court will make its final ruling.