Senate idea: Tax plastic surgery to pay for reform
Peter Cohn of NationalJournal.com reports that the Senate Finance Committee has discussed, among other things, a 10 percent tax on the sort of cosmetic surgery that has no compelling medical reason.
The tax would build on a 1990 law that keeps folks from getting itemized deductions for cosmetic surgery “unless the surgery or procedure is necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or a disfiguring disease.”
It also mentions that, while several states have tried to tax cosmetic surgery, on New Jersey has succeeded. However, Malcolm Roth, vice president for health policy and advocacy at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, asserts that the “New Jersey tax has only brought in about 25 percent of anticipated revenue since it was enacted in 2004.”
Cohn’s report also includes some arguments against the tax, including the assertion that it would discriminate against the women who make up an overwhelming majority of plastic surgery patients.
Comments
2 Comments on Senate idea: Tax plastic surgery to pay for reform
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The Most Pressing Medical Issue « The American Catholic on
Mon, 10th Aug 2009 5:15 am
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Plastic surgery South Africa on
Fri, 2nd Oct 2009 7:44 am
[...] refused to comment on the story. I would be willing to wager that this proposed tax will never be enacted into [...]
I think it’s a smart idea of Senate to get into the multi-million $$$ industry and fill the US funding gap. I’m sure it wont hurt the industry as such. Procedures are more motivated by personal issues than money.
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