Cosmetic Surgeons Get Reid to Tax Tanning Salons Instead

“Doctors were able to surgically remove the so-called Botax from the Senate's health-care overhaul bill and replace it with a 10% tax on tanning services. ‘We suggested that the tanning tax would be a better alternative to the cosmetic tax and hopefully will reduce the incidence of skin cancer down the road,’ said David M. Pariser, president of the American Academy of Dermatology Association, which represents dermatologists. The American Medical Association had also opposed the proposed 5% tax on cosmetic procedures -- dubbed the Botax after the antiwrinkle product Botox -- which was among the issues it wanted changed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. After that change and others were made over the weekend, the AMA announced its support Monday for the Senate bill. A spokesman for Mr. Reid said in an email the tanning tax was ‘on the table for a while’ before the Botax was proposed several weeks ago. An industry spokesman said U.S. tanning businesses were unlikely to earn enough to provide the government with the roughly $2.7 billion over 10 years envisioned by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation...

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