Written by Grinza Staff
American plastic surgeons are lobbying against “Botax”—the government-proposed five percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery.
In 2008, there were more than 4.5 million Botox visits in the United States (US) and each visit cost about $400. And the surprising thing about it is that the Botox demographic is well spread out. Botox is no longer just for the old or middle-aged, even teenagers go for Botox these days.
Senator Harry Reid proposes to implement Botax in order to fund the healthcare reform bill. If it is passed as a law, the tax will take effect on January, 2010. It is estimated to generate more than $5.6 billion over the next decade.
Botax will apply to procedures that are “not necessary to ameliorate a deformity arising from, or directly related to, a congenital abnormality, a personal injury resulting from an accident or trauma, or disfiguring disease.”
However, the tax is being accused as discriminative. Dr. Michael McGuire, president of ASPS, explained: “Elective surgery taxes discriminate against women, given that 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients are female.”
Dr. McGuire also emphasized that plastic surgeries are no longer for the wealthy only. Botax will also affect laser eye surgeries, knee replacement surgeries, etc.
Source:grinza.com
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