"Something called 'Botax' might help pay for health care reform. The name derives from a tax on Botox... which in the case of some Hollywood types could raise millions.
Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% excise tax on elective cosmetic procedures... that includes things like Botox injections, breast implants, tummy tucks, face lifts, liposuction, teeth whitening, eyelid repairs, etc."
interesting...well, the money has to come from somewhere?
2 comments:
Hi Timin,
Thanks for posting this interesting article. I personally don't really see any problem with taxing these cosmetic procedures. The arguments proposed by the American Academy of Plastic Surgeons all seem a bit spurious. Are women really using Botox to spruce up their looks in order to find jobs?
This tax actually reminds me a bit of Proposition 63, now called the Mental Health Services Act, which was passed in 2004. It places a 1% income tax on annual incomes of $1 million or higher, and all the funds generated would go to improving California's mental health care system. Though I'm not entirely sure of the story of how Proposition 63 was passed, I'm sure that the millionaires pushed back against it. Nevertheless, I don't think they're doing too badly, and more than $4.1 billion has been generated for mental health services.
Interestingly, I just went to the NYT website, and this article was posted about the Bo-Tax.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/health/policy/30cosmetic.html?ref=health
I particularly identify with the closing statement that a 5% tax will not likely deter people from receiving plastic surgery.
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