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Cosmetic Surgery & Tax Deductions? – A New Twist for the System
By Dr. R. Jarial | August 16, 2009
Most in Washington heard the news this week from a report in Congress Daily which stated that the Senate Finance Committee was plotting a 10 percent surcharge on all unnecessary cosmetic-surgery procedures, and that the idea had been broached to Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) during a meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orzag in mid-July.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose “refreshed” looks have spawned constant speculation, is also out of the loop. She has read the all news articles about it, her office says, but had no discussions on the subject. “As far as she knows,” says her press secretary Brendan Daly, “it’s not being seriously considered.”
So who decided to levy an excise tax on the cushy world of rejuvenation and self-improvement? Some point the finger at the Treasury Department’s economic adviser Gene Sperling.
The press aide for Finance Committee member Senator Kent Conrad says he was thoroughly mystified when he read the story and thought it was probably a spoof or joke.
The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, which boasts 2,500 aesthetic practitioners, was evehement in their opposition. Charlie Baase, communications director for the AACS, mentioned it would be discriminatory to females who comprise 90 percent of all plastic-surgery patients. Although some may think this may be the way to lipo the idle rich, in reality it is working women who would be targeted, specifically those who earn between $30,000 and $90,000 a year, and baby boomers attempting to kickstart or rekindle a career.
This type of revenue-raising has been proposed in several states before, with a minimum of success. The only state to adopt such a tax is New Jersey, which has failed to realize expected profits, and is facing strong opposition from the legislators who originally voted for the bill.
According to Dr. Malcolm Roth, a health and policy advocate at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the tax only added to the bureaucracy and presented the problem of deciding which procedures were taxable and which were not. There also was the dilemma of determining the fine line between necessary reconstructive surgery and cosmetic enhancement.
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