Four years of ASA lobbying efforts have Congress finally seeing the light: ‘The Tan Tax’ was a total failure

If Benjamin Franklin’s adage is true that nothing is certain but death and taxes, then it should also be said that eliminating a tax is virtually next to impossible.

And yet, after four years and more than 1,200 meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill, the American Suntanning Association’s cornerstone lobbying objective – repealing the devastating 10 percent Tan Tax – is one Senate vote, conference committee and presidential signature away from being history. That’s because the U.S. House of Representatives voted May 4 to repeal the Tan Tax as part of the American Health Care Act of 2017.

There’s work left to do, but the Tan Tax is closer to the scrap heap than ever. What had to happen to make the impossible possible?

“The amount of effort that went into putting us in this position is beyond colossal,” ASA President Melinda Norton said. “The ASA federal lobbying team – both staff and volunteers – has put tens-of-thousands of hours into telling our story on Capitol Hill: that the tax failed as a revenue producer for Obamacare, closed more than 9,000 businesses, killed 95,000 jobs and pushed those who wish to use sunbeds into non-salon tanning where sunburn was more likely. Congress understands: It’s hard to imagine any other way the tax could have been a failure.”

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.