A cosmetic surgery tax is being proposed in DC.  Cosmetic surgery just can’t get a break.  Not only is it often the fodder for many late-night jokes and gross generalizations about vanity, but now it faces the responsibility of being taxed to help raise revenue to cover health care reform costs.

One of the most controversial issues of Barack Obama’s presidency so far has been health care. President Obama’s proposed health care reform has been widely criticized, in part due to its expense. This reform may end up costing in excess of one trillion dollars, leading many citizens to ask just where this money will come from. One proposed solution to the funding problem is taxation of cosmetic surgery procedures.

Americans spent an estimated $10.3 billion dollars last year on elective cosmetic surgery procedures. A tax of ten percent imposed on these procedures would generate over one billion dollars that could go towards funding health care reform. Necessary procedures such as reconstructions after various cancers would not be taxed under such a bill, but would actually be tax deductible.

The idea of taxing cosmetic surgery procedures is not a new one. In fact, it has been tried in the past by the state of New Jersey. However, New Jersey lawmakers repealed the tax after it failed to bring in the estimated revenue. Only about 25 percent of the expected funds were actually raised via New Jersey’s tax on cosmetic surgery.

Critics of a cosmetic surgery tax point out that although it may at first appear to be a tax for the wealthy only, it could actually have much more of an impact on the American middle class. Many middle class women save for years for cosmetic surgery procedures, especially those that are designed to help restore the body to the way it looked before having children. Breast lifts, tummy tucks, and liposuction are all popular procedures chosen by women for this reason. While the wealthy might be able to easily afford to pay ten percent extra for their cosmetic surgery, for a middle class person, an extra ten percent could mean months or even years longer of saving up for the procedure.

Critics also wonder if a tax on cosmetic surgery procedures might not actually be gender discrimination, as men and women do not undergo cosmetic procedures equally. It’s estimated that up to 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients in the US are female, meaning that far more women than men would be subjected to paying such a tax.

Some lawmakers in Washington deny that a cosmetic surgery tax is under serious consideration. Senator Kent Conrad a lead negotiator in health care reform talks, said he has not heard of or seen any proposal to tax cosmetic surgery. However, he did not rule out the possibility of such a tax coming under consideration in the future, but said he would need more information on the pros and cons to form an opinion on the tax.

No matter what decision is made about proposed health care reform and a possible cosmetic surgery tax, it will be a while before the US public knows what will happen. Congress has already said they will not have an agreement on any health care reform draft bills before they break for the summer on August 8, 2009. That date is also President Obama’s deadline for a health care reform plan agreement that would be finalized after the break. A resolution will therefore not come at least until Congress reconvenes in Washington, DC for the fall session, which is scheduled to take place on September 8, 2009.