Originally published February 3 2005
Washington state lawmakers ponder cosmetic surgery tax
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The legislature in Washington state is considering putting a tax on cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections and plastic surgery. Procedures such as reconstructive surgery for burn victims or mastectomy patients would not be subject to the tax. The proposal has angered plastic surgeons and their patients, who say that the tax would set a bad precedent.
Lawmakers trying to plump up the bottom line are considering a "vanity tax" on cosmetic surgery and Botox injections in Washington, Illinois and other states.
Plastic surgeons and their patients say the idea is just plain ugly.
Where does it stop --- massages, facials, teeth cleanings?"
asked Karen Wakefield, 51, who has had a nose job, dermabrasion, liposuction, tummy tuck and breast lift --- plus a little Botox here and there.
"Even having a baby is elective surgery," added Wakefield, an event planner in Woodinville.
The Washington state senator who proposed the tax said she has never gone under the knife for beauty, but wouldn't rule it out.
"I, too, look in the mirror and see my mother," said Seattle Democrat Karen Keiser, 57.
But she thinks cosmetic surgery patients can afford the state's 6.5 percent sales tax.
She wants to earmark the money for poor children's health insurance.
It might be the new thing," Keiser said.
"Anyone who can afford the money for cosmetic procedures, I don't think they would be deterred by a little sales tax.
The tax would not apply to reconstructive surgery for, say, burn victims or women who have undergone mastectomies.
In September, New Jersey became the first and so far the only state to tax plastic surgery, at 6 percent.
The tax is projected to bring in $25 million a year.
"In this anti-tax climate, these user-based, selective tax proposals are more palatable than broader ones," said Bert Waisaner, tax policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons frowns on this new wrinkle, calling New Jersey's law a "dangerous precedent."
Seattle surgeon Dr. Phil Haeck noted that 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are women.
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