Tanning businesses red hot over proposed tax

Local tanning salon operators are feeling burned by a federal proposal to add a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services.

The last-minute tax was added by lawmakers debating the health care reform bill.

"It's a very, very poorly initiated tax," said Sandra Rossiter, owner of Raydiance Wellness in South Tampa. She says more than 50 percent of her business comes from tanning beds.

"I think you're going to see a tremendous amount of salons going out of business," Rossiter said.

According to the International Smart Tan Network, the so-called "tan tax" could force more than 1,000 businesses to close and a loss of 9,000 jobs nationwide. The group also is complaining that dermatologists, who lobbied for the tax, routinely use tanning equipment in their practices to treat skin conditions.

"This back-room deal was brokered by the dermatology industry with senators without any due diligence nor any input from tanning retailers," said Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy.

Tampa's Rossiter said if the beds are taxed for small business owners, dermatologists should be taxed as well.

"It's unfair taxing," she said.

Tampa dermatologist Kathleen Leber said medical use of tanning equipment is minimal and in a controlled environment.

"It's not the same thing," Leber said.

Last summer, the World Health Organization moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation to the top of the cancer risk category, along with chimney sweeping, Hepatitis B and tobacco.

Dr. Neil Fenske, director of dermatology for the University of South Florida, cited recent studies suggesting people who tan under the age of 30 boost their risk of cancer by 75 percent.

"A lot of these light bulbs that are in these tanning devices are stronger than the midday sun in Australia, which we know is one of the highest concentrations of skin cancer in the world," Fenske said.

Occasional tanning customer Michal Kaufstern said the tax won't change her tanning habits but said it might change others.

"For those people who do tan on a regular basis, if I was one of them I probably wouldn't tan as much," Kaufstern said.