The Health Care Reform Tan Tax

If you choose to get a sun-kissed look by visiting a tanning salon, be prepared to shell out an 10 percent tax on your tan. The approved Health Care Reform Bill includes a a tax on salon tanners in hopes of curbing rising skin cancer rates and to also raise funds for healthcare. The bill replaces the 5 percent proposed tax on elective plastic surgery procedures (loosely called Bo-Tax), which was nixed after it was determined that a tan tax would generate almost twice the revenue - about 2.75 billion over 10 years. The tax goes into effect July 1, 2010. It is important to note that sunless tanning services and products are not subject to taxation. Only UV exposure services like tanning beds and other artificial UV sources will be taxed.

Why We Should Cheer The Tanning Tax

The facts about skin cancer are simple: more people are being diagnosed and at younger ages. Over 1 million Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year and there are no signs of the rate slowing down. The fact that exposure to UV rays, including those from artificial sources, like tanning beds greatly increases the likelihood of developing melanoma and other types of skin cancer is not debated - its factual.

Taxing tanners holds the same principle as taxing tobacco purchases. It hopefully will serve as a deterrent to avoid tanning or to at least tan less frequently. Skin cancer is the most preventable types of cancer, but too few people take the necessary precautions to protect themselves, such as wearing sunscreen and avoiding exposure to UV rays.

Why Some People Oppose the Tan Tax

According to the Indoor Tanning Association, about 30 million Americans patron tanning salons each year -- that's approximately 10 percent of the U.S. population. Of course tanners are going to oppose the hike for obvious reasons like having to pay more out of pocket, but not all those who oppose the tax are tanners. Some feel that the government doesn't have the right to tax a certain group of people, calling it discrimination. Similar debates exist in the tobacco tax arena.

Salon owners, of course, will be the hardest hit from the tax. Some claim they will be forced to raise the cost of services to offset the deficit from declining customers. There are reports of some salons already contemplating reducing salon staff to help eat the costs as well.