The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is now in full affect. Consumers as well as businesses are now beginning to feel the pinch from the taxes that were a part of the overall plan. This includes small businesses and women-owned businesses. One tax that has had a particularly devastating affect has been the tanning salon business, mostly owned and operated by women.
Taxing tanning salons
Under the Obamacare program, tanning salons are now subject to a 10 percent tax on all UV tanning services. The result has been devastating. There were 18,000 tanning salons in existence in 2009. Now there are only 10,000. This means that 8,000 salons were put out of business, costing the economy 64,000 jobs.
Why we should care
The problem is that tanning salons are mostly owned by women, and their employees are mostly women. So, the impact of the tax law has directly hit women-owned business. The fact that almost half of the original tanning salons were put out of business is proof that these small businesses are not in the same category of the rich who pay more now in Medicare payroll tax if their income is $200,000 or above. This tax hits middle America right in the pocket.
What is interesting is that the government originally planned to add a tax to cosmetic surgery but decided against it because the American Medical Association strenuously objected. So the government decided to tax tanning salons instead. Now, consider that, according to the Allied Physicians Salary Survey, an entry level plastic surgeon earns an annual salary of $237,000, and a top plastic surgeon earns $820,000. The salaries of tanning salon owners and employees are not in this category.
The tax is hurting women-owned businesses and middle-class America. It just doesn't make sense.