Say No To Tan Tax

Sign the Petition : 2,952 Letters and Emails Sent So Far

Because “The Tan Tax” proposal in the U.S. Senate health care bill is based on total misinformation. Smart Tan released this information: Regardless of your stance on health care reform, a tax on indoor tanning services will hurt more people than it helps, unfairly targets women and women-owned businesses, was proposed with no due-diligence whatsoever and makes no sense at all in this bill.

Specifically:

This tax unfairly targets lower- and middle-class female consumers with a 10 percent tax, as compared to the “Bo-tax” which would be a 5 percent tax on wealthy consumers.
This tax unfairly targets female business owners. An estimated 67 percent of tanning facilities are owned and operated by women.
The math does not add up – the proposal overestimates tanning revenues by 40-50 percent. It will not raise the revenues the government says it needed.
This will cost every community in America jobs and tax revenue. In a weak economy, this large, double-digit tax will hurt thousands of small, largely female-owned businesses, forcing many to close and/or lay off employees.
Dermatology lobbyists insisted that cosmetic phototherapy procedures in their offices – which use the same equipment as tanning businesses – be exempted from the tax. By targeting indoor tanning salons, they are attempting to drive 1.5 million phototherapy clients back into their businesses.
This was a back-room deal. This tax was added into the bill without studying its affect at all when those who sell Botox injections, phototherapy procedures and cosmetic surgery lobbied lawmakers to remove a much-better studied 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery procedures from the bill — a tax that would have had less of an impact on society and would have raised more revenue to pay for this bill.
Say No To Tan Tax

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People signing the "Say No To Tan Tax" petition View Report

  1. Thu., Sep. 2, 2010 5:36 PM    link Angela W. | Saratoga Springs, NY

  2. Wed., Sep. 1, 2010 2:47 PM    link k G. | Calhan, CO

  3. Wed., Sep. 1, 2010 2:15 PM    link Marlisa R. | Goodfield, IL

  4. Tue., Aug. 31, 2010 12:25 AM    link Jackie B. | San Francisco, CA

    A bit of history: taxes were unheard of when this country was founded. The income tax was not instituted until the early 1900s and even then, it was only 3 percent on the top 1 percent of wage earners.
    The federal government does not have the authority to mandate such a tax under the Constitution; only an individual state can impose this kind of tax. When the Founding Fathers wrote state's rights and federal rights into the Constitution, they were trying to prevent unfair and unecessary taxes like the Tan Tax; taxes they were fleeing from in England. But apparently that means nothing to today's legislators. The Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves. But Congress will be turning over too- in November. Vote these corrupt and socialist "leaders" out!!!!

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  6. Sat., Aug. 28, 2010 6:58 AM    link Name not displayed | Lansdale, PA

  7. Thu., Aug. 26, 2010 11:53 PM    link Chester B. | Kansas City, MO

    I think we should do away with every single tax. no phone tax, no sales tax,no car licence tax, no school tax.
    just one flat rate income tax only, thats it.
    tan tax?????????????????????????????????

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  9. Thu., Aug. 26, 2010 6:11 PM    link matt b. | Bradenton, FL

  10. Wed., Aug. 25, 2010 8:54 PM    link Nikki C. | Hollywood, FL

    All I can ask is "Why???????" Why tax tanning? Why? It is not fair. If more taxes are needed, and they just have no other ways to collect money, then many types of taxes should be applied to many different types of business, except in amounts less than 1% per business type. Spread out the taxes, or don't charge them at all.

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  12. Wed., Aug. 25, 2010 10:12 AM    link Mrs. J. | Suffolk, VA

    Not only is this tax discriminatory and racist, it is targeted at only a specific niche of businesses. My gym has tanning booths, and they aren't being taxed extra. Maybe now, I will get a prescription and go get phototherapy from a doctor's office and charge it to my health insurance. Considering this is exactly the reason behind why I go to a tanning bed, I think I should do that. Not only will this tan tax hurt working middle class white women (and some men), but it will unfairly put small, predominantly woman-owned businesses out of business and cause job losses that this country cannot afford. The dermatology industry and sunscreen manufacturers all have everyone scared to "death" literally of the sun. Well, I'll tell you what, I was actually prescribed by my doctors to get some sun. Vitamin D has been in the news and in medical journals big time recently because they've discovered that proper Vitamin D levels are very crucial to overall health and immunity. Unfortunately, it is well known that Vitamin D deficiency is now an epidemic in this country, and is widely undertested, and therefore, underdiagnosed. Low Vitamin D levels, especially coupled with low hormone levels, can be a cause of depression. And what does everyone seem to be taking these days? You guessed it...anti-depressants. Anyone ever stop to wonder why so many people are depressed? Could it be that we sit indoors all day or in our cars commuting to our jobs to work long hours to pay taxes so that career welfare recipients, illegal immigrants, and the like can reap the benefits. This causes us not to be able to produce Vitamin D naturally via the skin from UVB rays from the sun. To add more madness, the derms and sunscreen companies telling us to wear SPF 10,000 or risk skin cancer make the Vitamin D deficiency even more likely. Ever wonder about that disorder called SAD (season affective disorder)? It happens a lot in places where the sun doesn't shine, and people become depressed. Hello...can anyone see the link? I heeded that advice for the past 25 years of my life. I am chronically Vitamin D deficient even after heavy supplementation for half a year. And if anyone thinks they are getting enough from food, they might not be. Because unless you eat a lot of processed foods which have Vitamin D added to them, there are virtually no foods that contain Vitamin D. I eat a healthy, natural, unprocessed diet based on what is said to be the healthiest way to eat by many expert nutritionists. Therefore, I get almost no Vitamin D from food, and since I have been avoiding sunshine like the plague for years, I wound up severely depressed. After I started going tanning, within a few weeks I started to feel so much better. And I don't mean tanning to excess. I go maybe once a week for 10 minutes. It keeps a little color in my skin, and pep in my step. And it is the only thing, I repeat, the only thing I've done that has changed my Vitamin D levels on labwork. They

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  14. Tue., Aug. 24, 2010 8:35 PM    link Name not displayed | Saint Peters, MO

  15. Tue., Aug. 24, 2010 7:24 PM    link Rebecca B. | Mechanicsville, VA

    We pay enough taxes as it is

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  17. Tue., Aug. 24, 2010 12:57 PM    link Name not displayed | Philadelphia, PA

  18. Tue., Aug. 24, 2010 11:21 AM    link Christy S. | Denver, CO

  19. Fri., Aug. 20, 2010 5:37 PM    link Trace M. | Gouldsboro, PA

  20. Fri., Aug. 20, 2010 11:53 AM    link Brenda F. | Cortland, NY

    This tax is crazy....what are they gonna tax now???? Toilet Paper????!!!!

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  22. Fri., Aug. 20, 2010 11:51 AM    link Brenda F. | Cortland, NY

    This tax is crazy....what are they gonna tax now???? Toilet Paper????!!!!

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  24. Thu., Aug. 19, 2010 12:05 PM    link Deidra N. | Johnson City, TN

  25. Wed., Aug. 18, 2010 7:33 PM    link Name not displayed | San Leandro, CA

  26. Mon., Aug. 16, 2010 9:05 AM    link Melissa M. | Northfield, OH

  27. Sun., Aug. 15, 2010 9:39 PM    link John R. | Palm Coast, FL

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