Unkindest cut: Tax proposed on cosmetic surgery

by Bob Mook

Area plastic surgeons say that a U.S. Senate proposal to apply a 5 percent tax on cosmetic procedures cuts too deeply into their bottom line — and will force many practices to lay off staff or close.

Senate Democratic leaders added a 5 percent tax on elective cosmetic procedures to generate $5 billion in the next 10 years to help pay for a $849 billion plan to overhaul the nation’s health care system.

And while the money collected from the tax (nicknamed by some as the “botax”) would cover only a tiny fraction of the overall cost of the health care reform bill, local cosmetic surgeons say it would have disastrous consequences for a sector that’s already been stung by the recession.

“I suspect it’s going to hurt us,” said Dr. David Broadway, a Denver plastic surgeon. “We’re already in an industry that’s reeling from the economy.”

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 - http://www.broadwayplasticsurgery.com/