Legal Commentary

The Tanning Salon Excise Tax

By Kenneth Anderson

In case you didn?t get a chance to read the Manager?s Amendment to the Senate bill yourself, all the way to the end, the way that your senators surely will, here?s one item of possible interest:

(b) EXCISE TAX ON INDOOR TANNING SERVICES.?

Subtitle D of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as

amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end

the following new chapter:

CHAPTER 49?COSMETIC SERVICES

??Sec. 5000B. Imposition of tax on indoor tanning services.

??SEC. 5000B. IMPOSITION OF TAX ON INDOOR TANNING

SERVICES.?

(a) IN GENERAL.?There is hereby imposed on any

indoor tanning service a tax equal to 10 percent of the

amount paid for such service (determined without regard

to this section), whether paid by insurance or otherwise.

(b) INDOOR TANNING SERVICE.?For purposes of

this section?

(1) IN GENERAL.?The term ?indoor tanning

service? means a service employing any electronic

product designed to incorporate 1 or more ultraviolet

vidual by ultraviolet radiation, with wavelengths in

air between 200 and 400 nanometers, to induce skin

tanning.

(2) EXCLUSION OF PHOTOTHERAPY SERV-

ICES.?Such term does not include any phototherapy

service performed by a licensed medical professional.

(c) PAYMENT OF TAX.?

(1) IN GENERAL.?The tax imposed by this

section shall be paid by the individual on whom the

service is performed.

(2) COLLECTION.?Every person receiving a

payment for services on which a tax is imposed

under subsection (a) shall collect the amount of the

tax from the individual on whom the service is per?

formed and remit such tax quarterly to the Sec?

retary at such time and in such manner as provided

by the Secretary.

(3) SECONDARY LIABILITY.?Where any tax

imposed by subsection (a) is not paid at the time

payments for indoor tanning services are made, then

to the extent that such tax is not collected, such tax

shall be paid by the person who performs the service.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on December 20, 2009 (boomark / email).