Three-quarters of U.S. tanning business owners say that the July 1 implementation of the federal 10 percent luxury tax on indoor tanning services has hurt their tanning sales this month, according to the results of a SmartTan.com poll.

According to the poll, 76 percent believe the 10 percent tax has hurt tanning sales in their business. Only 24 percent felt the tax has had no impact on sales. None of those polled felt the tax helped their sales.

“There’s no way right now of telling for sure if this is going to represent a long-term affect,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “We think, in the short term, the implementation of this tax has generated an element of uncertainty for the market at a time when many small businesses — not just tanning facilities — are struggling. The imposition of this tax on this market without any due diligence by Congress or the anti-tan lobbying groups who proposed it in a back-room, midnight, secret-handshake deal, has negatively impacted business in virtually every community in America.”