
Programmer behind YouPorn empire arrested in Belgium - car
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sueddeutsche.de%2Fwirtschaft%2Fverdacht-auf-steuerhinterziehung-youporn-chef-ist-festgenommen-worden-1.1546865
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GuiA
I've always mused with the idea of creating a user-submitted-content based
porn website.

The base code can be whipped out in a few days, and getting traffic for that
kind of thing seems to be super easy. The goal would then be to make minor
money through smart advertising (most porn websites today are usability hell,
with every single white space covered in ads; i'm sure one could do some smart
conversion optimizations there), and major money through acquisition when the
brand is built.

I feel that this might be a "low hanging fruit" kind of venture because of the
social stigma associated with it ("I'm CEO for a social cupcake sharing app"
is so much more cooler than "I'm CEO for a porn site"), but I might just be
naive about the whole thing.

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notatoad
I question how much of the "user submitted porn" is actually user submitted.
Flickr, YouTube, etc i buy that all the content is submitted by users. Porn
sites, it seems far more likely that the content is mostly uploaded by paid
staff. It's hard for me to believe that there are people who see a porn they
like and think "wow, I should submit this to youporn". If you're going to
build a porn site, the biggest part of the job is probably seeding it with
content.

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kysol
The major tube sites from the looks of things are primarily dominated by other
sites trying to fight for traffic via branded videos, or by cutting a deal
with the owner to have branded pages that not only showcase their uploaded
content, but a few banners here and there to try and push half satisfied
viewers to the core content hub.

I'd guess that the tube site is getting some sort of service fee for allowing
the sites to have a "premium" service, as well as some sort of kick back
depending on the conversion rate from leads generated by the content (why the
premium videos are generally listed higher).

If you think that 1) the videos are legit and that guy just happened to
stumble across those two girls in the woods, then you're also going to also
believe that 2) most of the content is amateur. - It's a sad truth that the
industry preys on the weak minded.

I'd say that a fair amount is self-uploaded (via content bought from
providers, or produced specifically for the site), but a majority is uploaded
from other content houses to try to promote themselves. Think Free to air
TV... average crap shows, filled with 80% advertising.

~~~
true_religion
I don't think that people who buy adult content are weak minded.

I think that they view "amateur" sites as a 'fantasy' portrayal of reality
like television. Yes, TV shows and adult sites don't try to break the 4th wall
but that's to be expected in a drama.

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DanBlake
The guy has to be making crazy bank. Wonder why he didnt just pay his taxes.
When you are bringing in a likely 100m a year, what difference will another
10m make? I think the guys behind huge sites like this just have weird
personality's that make them like to hack every system they can which
obviously ends up in situations like this.

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marme
taxes on 100m are not 10m more like 45m as the top tax rate in germany is 45%.
The 100m a year is gross revenue also not net profit so he is probably pulling
in a lot less after operating costs. People just get greedy and dont want to
pay their taxes

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brianchu
Just one note: 45% is the top marginal tax rate. No one is actually taxed such
that they lose 45% of their income through personal income taxes. The
effective (average) tax rate will be much, much less.

EDIT: not to mention lower taxes due to deductions, capital gains, legal tax
shelters.

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melvinmt
At 100 million, it'll be closer to 45% than any other bracket.

~~~
StavrosK
Taxes on that would probably be about 44,850,000.

~~~
randomchars
Do you pay taxes after the whole income or just (income -expenses)?

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StavrosK
It depends, corporations pay on just profits, so income - expenses. The
original poster was talking as if the 100m was pure profit, though. Also, I'm
not German, but this is how the tax system works in Greece, the UK and many
other countries.

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mikeburrelljr
Be sure to watch the video with Fabian Thylmann on the bottom of the page - or
direct linked here: <http://youtu.be/VCQCsWOivGo>

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rprus
Crap, that's my boss =/

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daimyoyo
Not anymore.

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shawn-butler
Probably only briefly. The only thing that kept Martha Stewart from retaking
the helm of her company was an agreement to settle a civil suit the terms of
which included a 5 year ban.

Do the criminal penalties for tax evasion in Germany also entail such a ban?
In the US, it is fines and imprisonment only.

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dutchbrit
I sometimes don't understand how American Porn Tubes can survive with 18 USC §
2257: <http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2257>

~~~
tomjen3
> is produced in whole or in part with materials which have been mailed or
> shipped in interstate or foreign commerce, or is shipped or transported or
> is intended for shipment or transportation in interstate or foreign commerce

You don't ship anything made with materials -- the videos are all digital, so
there is no shipping or transportation going on at all -- so what you are
doing doesn't fall under that requirement.

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tjaerv
[http://gawker.com/5967224/porn-king-fabian-thylmann-
arrested...](http://gawker.com/5967224/porn-king-fabian-thylmann-arrested-for-
tax-evasion-in-belgium)

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shizzy0
It was as if a million moans cried out in ecstasy and were suddenly silenced.

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billirvine
Alas, Hacker News - - - I knew ye well.

(poor subject for this site)

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TelmoMenezes
I find your reaction fascinating. You find the topic of porn _so disturbing_
that a mere (very dry) discussion of its business side ruins the entire
experience of HN for you?

On a side note, you may be naif about hacker culture. On one hand, a lot of
hackers consume porn (by virtue of the fact that a large percentage of the
general population does). On the other, we tend to be curious about stuff,
even stuff that is considered a "poor subject" by conventional social norms.
We're not that big on conventional social norms...

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gordonguthrie
> even stuff that is considered a "poor subject" by conventional social norms.
> We're not that big on conventional social norms

Hmm, if you want to avoid conventional social norms, then NOT talking about
porn on the internet is the way to go, I would say. The world is awash with
people talking about porn.

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randomchars
Yeah the Internet is full of porn, but where do you find meta discussion about
porn sites? You know business opportunities, history and stuff life that.

~~~
hiddenfeatures
Very good point there. That still seems to be a big taboo.

OT: Proud to be German today :-)

