Geneva - A court in Switzerland ruled Thursday that value added tax must be paid for all things sold, even prostitution, dismissing a claim by a brothel owner.

The owner, who was told by the tax authorities to pay 95,000 Swiss francs (84,640 dollars) in VAT on the services she proffered, claimed the government could not tax "immoral" acts.

The court, in a rather Swiss moment, ruled in favour of the principle of "neutrality" of the tax code, meaning all business deals, including the selling of drugs or sex services, should be subject to the value added tax.

A previous Swiss ruling had already determined that massage salons had to pay taxes like other shops. (dpa)