Proposed "Tan Tax" may burn the business

By Lauren Victory
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Viewed 639 times.

It looks like days for the tanning industry might be getting a little darker...

“It's going to probably put a lot of tanning salons out of business, add more people to the unemployment and most of them--70 percent of all women--70 percent of people who own tanning salons are women in this industry,” said Donald Hirsch, president of Ultimate Exposure.

The House is preparing to discuss the "Tanning Bed Cancer Control Act."

The bill aims to limit the amount of UV rays emitted by tanning beds and lower the amount of time a consumer can tan in one session. But Hirsch, who also serves as a member of the Indoor Tanning Association maintains that tanning is not harmful to your health. In fact, he says it’s beneficial.

“We strongly believe that Vitamin D from tanning is very good for you and studies have shown that it even decreases your chances by 50 percent of all internal cancers,” Hirsch said.

Even if that bill does not pass, the tanning industry might still get burned.

In the proposed Senate Healthcare bill there is a special 10 percent tax on indoor tanning. The Feds hope to bring in $2.7 billion.

“The tanning industry is a very easy target. Lots of mom and pop businesses, somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand,” Hirsch said.

Lucky for Hirsch, he does not expect his 48 salons in the Greater Chicago area to go under.
However, he encourages tan-lovers everywhere to take political action.

“We have sent an email out to all our customers to write to their senators to stop the tan tax act,” said Hirsch.

In reality, the tanning tax will only add about $1 to $3 to a total bill, but Hirsch says that adds up if you hit the beds on a regular basis.

Supporters in Congress defend *both* acts because of the high risk of skin cancer associated with tanning. Some equate the tanning tax to taxes on cigarettes.