State Government; Tax; Cosmetic Surgery

Some state governments are considering imposing a tax on a number of cosmetic surgery procedures, from face-lifts to liposuction to Botox injections. This has drawn protests from plastic surgeons who argue that they will be adversely affected by such a tax.

New Jersey passed the first such law in the summer of 2004, and Texas, Illinois, Washington, Arkansas, Tennessee, and New York have followed with their own bills for consideration. The primary motivation for this is revenue generation to fund other initiatives, such as child health care. New Jersey imposed a 6% tax on a wide variety of procedures, but exempts those done when medically necessary (to correct a disfigurement, for example).

Statistics indicate that there is much money to be generated from these procedures. In 2004, 9.2 million procedures were done, a 5% increase over the previous year, and a 24% increase from 2000. A total of $8.4 billion was spent on such procedures. New Jersey predicted revenues of $24 million last year from the bill, but only saw $7 million. It's not clear whether consumers are going to nearby states to have the procedures done, however, or simply choosing not to have it done at all.

Critics argue that this bill unfairly targets women, as well as those with modest incomes, as 87% of all procedures last year were performed on females, and 60% of patients reported an income between $30,000 and $90,000.