Clip to Evernote

Even if you’re not ready for it, unfortunately the Tan Tax goes into effect tomorrow. What does it mean to us? The tanning tax applies to all electronic products designed for tanning that use one or more ultraviolet lamps with wavelengths between 200 and 400 nanometers. The good news is that other sunless tanning options such as spray tans and tanning lotions are not included in the tax.

There’s no way around this, it sucks. To make matters worse, the tanning industry is the only group that was singled out for the tax. Some fear that it’ll cause salons to close. You don’t have to worry about Extreme Tan And Smoothies closing up shop anytime soon, but some industry experts like Joseph Levy, vice president of the International Smart Tan Network, estimate that 9,000 jobs are in danager and more than 1,000 salons are at risk of being forced to close their doors.

It’s also pretty obvious that the tax also targets middle-class and female business owners because approximately two-thirds of tanning salons in the U.S. owned by women, he said.

The 10% tanning tax replaced a 5% tax on cosmetic surgery that was originally included in the health care reform bill.

That tax, nicknamed the “Botax,” would have included everything from Botox injections to breast implants and other elective surgeries. However, it was cut out of the bill after heavy lobbying from the medical and dermatology industries.

Because Botax was expected to generate $5.8 billion, double what the tan tax is expected to raise, many tanning salon owners and tanners are upset about the last minute switch because the tanning tax directly targets middle class women businesses. The Botax would’ve mainly impacted richer people who would have been more able to handle higher prices.

What do you think about the tan tax? Do you think it’s fair?

Related Posts

  • Oppose the 10% Tax on Tanning Services

    Some of you might not be aware that on Christmas eve a few of the good folks in Washington gathered around and came up with a last minute 10% tax on tanning services, the 10% tax on tanning services will replace a 5% proposed tax on elective cosmetic procedures.

    In addition to posting the information [...]

  • Maryland passes new law for tanning minors

    Next week in Maryland, minors will not be allowed to use tanning salons without parental permission. The new law goes into effect beginning this Wednesday, October 1st.

    Under this new law, parents or legal guardians must be with the minor to sign a permission slip in front of the business owner or a qualified store [...]

  • Extreme Tan and Smoothies Hospitality Team Pictures

    Free Tanning offers were all over Seminole Florida yesterday when the first ever Extreme Tan and Smoothies Hospitality Team hit the streets of Seminole to offer anyone working in the Hospitality industry FREE Tanning. As with anything else that Extreme does the free tanning offers were simple, honest and didn’t have [...]

Tagged with:
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>