Posts tagged taxes

Breaking News: YOU can STOP the Cosmetic Tax!

0
2 years ago
by Dr. Aldo in

Big Tax Burden on the Middle Class.

Big Tax Burden on the Middle Class.

Scottsdale – We can all do something to Stop the Cosmetic Tax. The U. S. Senate has added a provision that would add a five percent tax to “cosmetic surgery and medical procedures” to help cover the $849 billion price tag for health care reform.

The tax would cover any medical procedure deemed “not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease.”

Because of this language, the tax could apply to a wide-range of treatments and surgeries designed to help enhance a patient’s self-confidence and create self-improvement. The tax will likely include charges to treatments with botulinum toxin, dermal filler injections, laser hair removal, breast implants, lipo, dental caps and implants, teeth whitening, etcetera..

Taxes on self-improvement should be opposed because:

  1. The tax is punitive and places an additional burden on the middle class (60% of patients make less than 90 thousand/year).
  2. The tax discriminates predominantly against women (86 to 91% of patients).
  3. The tax does not result in significant health reform.
  4. The tax mistakenly and unfairly categorizes cosmetic medical procedures in the same level as unhealthy habits (cigarettes and alcohol).
  5. The tax will be impossible to  administer, converting physicians into tax collectors.
  6. The tax discourages scientific  innovation and promotes dangerous and unregulated alternatives to safe, FDA-approved techniques.

This tax will impact Americans who are:

  1. Patients who are having or considering any procedure that might be taxed;
  2. Physicians who perform and administer those treatments and procedures;
  3. Employees of companies who manufacture cosmetic medical treatments;
  4. Americans opposed to additional taxes on individuals and small businesses to cover the costs of health reform.

YOU CAN HELP!

By calling your senators and telling them to stop this proposed tax on cosmetic medical procedures which will predominantly affect women.  Your support matters, so please take a moment to partake in this effort. Look below to see what else you can do to STOP THE COSMETIC TAX!

  1. Contact your Senators to be linked at the top of this page and send a message to Congress that you oppose the self-improvement tax.
  2. Join the Cosmetic Tax Opposition Movement to protect your rights and stop Washington from adding these arbitrary and discriminatory new taxes.
  3. Sign the Petition to STOP the Cosmetic Tax.
  4. Tell a your Friends about this unfair and discriminatory taxation.
  5. You can also go directly to www.stopcosmetictax.org and get more information on this important issue.

More Problems with Taxes on Plastic Surgery.

2
2 years ago
by Dr. Aldo in ,

Scottsdale – Can you imagine a government that says they want to reduce the costs of health care and then goes on to create a series of new taxes to pay for it all? Well, which is it? Raise or lower costs?

That is exactly what the U.S. Senate Democrats have done. They want to raise your taxes to fund a less expensive form of health care? Does that even make sense? It looks like the government is saying “pay us a bunch of money now (via taxes), and you’ll feel great later, because you won’t pay so much for your health care”. By the way, this is literal! Pay NOW, get benefits in 2013.

The current plan raises taxes on small businesses 8%, adds a new value-added-tax of 5% on the sale of all new products, taxes over-the-counter medications, taxes medical devices, and taxes drugs companies. The plan also calls for an increase in Medicaid benefits and will require individual states to raise taxes to pay for these medical benefits. California alone will have to generate 10 billion dollars to pay for this Medicaid expansion.

To top it all off, the Senate bill slapped the faces of all American middle class women by adding a 5% tax on elective cosmetic surgery procedures. I already mentioned (on the blog) that this is an unfair and sexist tax against women that make up 86% of the plastic surgery population. These types of taxes have already failed in some states, like New Jersey.

NJ is the only state to adopt a tax on elective medical procedures. A 6% tax on elective medical procedures was enacted in 2004. The NJ Department of Taxation experienced a 59% shortfall on projected revenue estimates. New Jersey Assemblyman Joseph Cryan, the sponsor of the 2004 bill, is now leading efforts to repeal the tax. This experience shows that these types of taxes are not going to work!

The big problem with this type of tax is that it is arbitrary and difficult to administer. Evidence in NJ, demonstrates that the line between “cosmetic” and “reconstructive” surgery is not always clear and leaves the determination of medical necessity up to state tax auditors. Can you imagine it now – a bunch of government cronies – telling you that your surgery is cosmetic and taxable as opposed to reconstructive? This is a completely inappropriate proposition for any government to hold over those they represent.

The part I hate the most about this bill is that it makes physicians tax collectors. Not only does that bill place physicians in the role of tax collector, it also holds physicians liable should an individual fail or refuse to pay the tax. Arguing about taxes and money with patients? What effects will that have on the doctor-patient relationship, I wonder?

The bill, if passed, will start taxing Americans on January 1, 2010. Remember their motto: “pay NOW, Benefits 2013″. This type of tax will place an incredible burden on physician offices, at a time when the economic recovery is very weak.

I believe that taxes on physicians and patients, in any form, will have deleterious effects on health care costs and limit access to quality patient care. I believe all Americans should oppose any legislation that increases costs and taxes and makes access to quality health care worse. Stay tuned to the blog to find out what you can do to Stop the Cosmetic Tax.

Go to Top