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If you’ve been listening to the news or browsing the internet today, you may have heard about the so-called ‘vanity tax’ being proposed to help pay for nationwide health care reform. The LA Times blog Top of the Ticket says the tax would attach 10 percent onto any elective procedure – your eyelid surgery, facelift, or Botox could be taxed heavily. Writers of the Speaker’s Lobby say the tax proposal is probably “off the table” for now, and that the idea likely came from a treasury department official.

This so-called ‘Botax’ or ‘vanity tax’ is being contested in a few different ways, but here are the two common arguments being reiterated:

Would it be gender discrimination?

The tax would be paid almost entirely by women. Despite the growing popularity of cosmetic procedures for men, women still make up over 90 percent of the patient demographic in the United States. Obviously, imposing a tax such as the one in question would unfairly discriminate against women. Think about it this way: would a tax be imposed on men who purchase expensive tattoos, fashionable clothing, or bodybuilding equipment? It doesn’t seem likely.

Would it affect the wealthy, the rich & famous, or the middle class?

There’s a common misconception that’s probably at work here; it’s that “only the rich and famous pursue cosmetic surgery.” Experience in the industry will show you otherwise. A 2004 survey conducted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons revealed that nearly “a third of people considering plastic surgery reported average household incomes below $30,000.”

Recall this New York Times piece by Natasha Singer titled “Who Is the Real Face of Plastic Surgery?” Ms. Singer discusses the fact that a large number of patients choose to finance cosmetic surgery when they cannot afford it out of pocket.