Local tanning salons aren’t getting burned as badly as they had expected under a new federally mandated 10-percent tan tax.
“We were very nervous,” said Khris Contini, owner of Hakuna Matata Tanning Salon in Syracuse, summing up a common view in the tanning-salon indusry. “We didn’t know how it would affect business.”
But to her relief, Contini says, she has not seen a major decrease in business to the salon. “We have lost a few clients,” she said. “But nothing substantial.”
The 10-percent tan tax went into effect on July 1, 2010, as part of the overhaul of the health care system approved by Congress and pushed by the Obama administration. The tax is expected to generate $2.7 billion over the next 10 years, according to a press release by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, an independent group that analyzes tax policy. The revenue from the tax is supposed to help pay for the estimated $940 billion price tag of the health care overhaul.
But many in the tanning-salon industry criticize the tax as unfair. And many customers say the price-hike will not stop them from fake baking.
“We are being targeted,” said Contini, of Hakuna Matata Tanning Salon.“The government needed money and they chose to get it from us.”
Dominique Garbo, of Garbo’s Salon and Spa on Marshall Street agrees. “This is just a way for the government to bring in money,” said Garbo. “It is not fair.”
Despite the higher cost, some tanning customers are not willing to give up their golden glow. “I barely notice that I am spending extra money because of the tax,” said Jessica Pearlman, a senior at Syracuse University. “It is worth it to be tan.”
Erica Lerner, a sophomore at Syracuse University, echoes that sentiment. “I like my skin the way that it looks when it is tan,” Lerner. “so I am going to keep going no matter how much it costs.”
The tax was strongly supported by the American Dermatologist Association and the American Cancer Society, both of which say they hope it deters people from using tanning beds. The groups fear that fake tanning, like real tanning from the sun’s ultra-violet rays, contribute to skin cancer.
“Indoor tanning is a health hazard especially among young women who are increasingly frequenting tanning salons and therefore increasing their risk of melanoma,” said Peter Slocum, vice president for advocacy at the American Cancer Society in Albany.
The World Health Organization has classified UV radiation from indoor tanning as carcinogenic to humans and in the same category as tobacco and asbestos.
Here are some other statistics from the American Academy of Dermatology:
- On an average day in the United States, more than 1 million people use an indoor tanning bed.
- Nearly 28 million people tan indoors each year.
- Studies have found exposure to UV radiation from indoor tanning causes a 75-percent increase in the risk of melanoma.
- The FDA estimates about 3,000 hospital emergency room cases a year from indoor tanning bed and lamp exposure.
The Indoor Tanning Association represents manufacturers, distributors, and owners of tanning equipment and salons. The group argues that young women are targeted by the tax. “The tax unfairly hits working women and college students who comprise the majority of indoor tanning consumers,” according to a position statement from the Association.
Khris Contini of Hakuna Matata Tanning Salon agrees tanning salons are being targeted. But, she said, she is not worried about the future of her business. “People who like looking tan are not going to stop coming,” said, Contini, “no matter the price.”
(Hilary Levin is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism.)
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