Indoor Tanning Gets 10% Tax

"We want to decrease the amount of cases of melanoma caused by indoor tanning salons," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says. "If we tax indoor tanning salons, less people will want to get tans and this will reduce the rate of melanoma significantly. Also, we will be able to raise over $2 billion over the next 10 years to offset the costs of the health care reform that will provide millions of more Americans with health insurance."

Wow, here we go. Billions and billions of taxpayer dollars spent on bailing out the auto industry (personally I'm tired of hearing and talking about this because it is so upsetting), a $787 billion stimulus package, and a defense bill that costs billions more (I'm for a bill that strengthens our military, but the one put together by Congress is mostly pork). Now the debt level has been raised to over $12 trillion. So, the solution is to tax tanning salons and pay all of that money back with $2.7 billion over 10 years? What a joke.

You know, this goes along with the idea of taxing sodas and other soft drinks. Every single thing that a person enjoys is going to be taxed. With all of the problems in the world today, people should be able to enjoy a few things and not have to worry about being taxed for it. People very well know that going to a tanning salon can increase one's risk of cancer (by as much as 75% for people under 30). Even so, it is the person's personal decision to get tanned just like it is a person's personal decision to drink soda. For instance, my aunt has gotten tans her entire life. She has never gotten cancer. If a person wants to look wrinkly earlier in life or wants to risk getting cancer, well, let them.

According to an article by the New York Times, the original plan was to have a Botox tax; however, this was knocked out because some doctors felt that it was a form of discrimination against women. They feel that since it is not unhealthy like smoking or tanning that it shouldn't be taxed. Yes, it would really stink if Nancy Pelosi couldn't get anymore Botox. God knows she wouldn't want to pay that tax. Of course Speaker of the House Pelosi doesn't care if tanning salons are taxed. After all, she is one of the pastiest looking people I've ever seen.

The argument that putting a tax on Botox is a form of discrimination against women is absolutely absurd. If this is the case, then the same thing can be said about tanning. That is because both tanning and Botox have one purpose: to make people look better or feel better about themselves. If you are going to tax one then you may as well tax the other. In the end, a tax will not stop people from getting cancer and it will not lower health insurance premiums. Even if premiums were lowered somewhat, we still have to pay back trillions of dollars of debt.

Source:

Catherine Saint Louis, "You're Going to Pay for That Tan," NYTimes.com.