Several high-ranking members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives voiced their continued support for the repeal of the Tan Tax in an article published by Law360 in February.
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The article, “Tanning Levy May Be Next Obamacare Tax On Chopping Block,” explains that three taxes imposed by the Affordable Care Act have already been repealed, and now “key Republicans” are pushing for the Tan Tax to be next to go, potentially as part of an extension of temporary tax incentives expiring at the end of 2020:
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Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, told Law360 there would be a strong bipartisan campaign led by Rep. George Holding, R-N.C., to eliminate the tanning tax in coming months. He made clear the push would stress the levy’s negative impact on an industry that has a high percentage of female business operators. “That tax has hit predominantly women-owned small businesses. So, it should be repealed,” the top GOP tax writer said. He referred to an industry estimate that the number of professional tanning salons has shrunk since the levy’s creation from 18,000 to about 7,000. Of the 11,000 shops that have closed, it is estimated that about 70% were owned by women. Brady said Republicans would use a bipartisan consensus-building approach on the tanning tax similar to the game plan deployed to kill the three other health care-related levies in December.
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The article also states that the push to repeal the Tan Tax is being led in the Senate by Sens. Rand Paul, R-KY and Joni Ernst, R-IA:
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“It is a small-business issue,” Ernst said, referring to the levy’s negative impact on tanning salons, including a number of businesses owned by women. “I am very supportive of repealing the tanning tax,” Paul told Law360.
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The ASA was also given the opportunity to share its perspective in the article, and comments from ASA President Melinda Norton and Board Member Chris Sternberg are included:
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Melinda Norton, board president of the American Suntanning Association, said she was meeting with lawmakers to make the case for the tax’s repeal and explaining the levy’s toll on her own former tanning business based in Terre Haute, Indiana, with 250 employees and 21 locations, which she closed in 2018. “It was a 10% gross tax, right off of the top. Most small businesses barely operate at 10% gross margin. We had a somewhat higher margin, so we withstood the first few years of the tax. But it stopped our ability to open new locations, make leasehold improvements and buy new equipment,” Norton said. Chris Sternberg, another board member of the association and general counsel of Sun Tan City, a tanning salon chain based in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, also has been working to rally support for the proposal from lawmakers, including a senator from nearby Louisville, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The company has 290 company-owned and franchise tanning salons in 22 states. “I hope and believe Sen. McConnell will help to ensure the bill’s passage,” Sternberg said.
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We have been so close to repeal of the tax many times, but fate and politics have kept us from crossing the finish line. ASA and the industry experienced this yet one more time this past December when the Tan Tax Repeal was dropped from the last-minute spending bill passed at the end of the year. But, ASA’s efforts to educate lawmakers on the issue are clearly working, as demonstrated by the commitment and efforts of Reps. Brady and Holding and Sens. Paul and Ernst. Moving forward, we plan to continue to focus on educating Democrats with the new science that supports our position in an attempt to overcome the negative perspective many Democrats still have.
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This means your help is still needed to support ASA’s efforts on Capitol Hill. Telling your elected officials, as a member of the constituency that elected them, about the impact the Tax is having on your business and livelihood, is the most effective way to drive their support for the repeal.
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If you are interested in sending an email, letter or contacting your representative, please email info@americansuntanning.org, or call 855.879.7678.
Founded in 2012, the American Suntanning Association is committed to defending and growing the industry through a detailed and proactive plan directed by an all-salon board and executed by more than two dozen management and consulting team members who specialize in this type of work.
