It seems as though the Tan Tax didn’t bring in what the IRS was hoping for. USAToday.com published an article titled, “Underdone: Tanning tax revenue falls short of estimates,” which states that revenue received was well below projected numbers.

The Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation “estimated the tax would raise $50 million in the last three months of fiscal year 2010 and $200 million for the full 2011 fiscal year.” However, only $54.4 million was collected between July 1, 2010 and March 31, 2011. That’s less that two thirds of the original estimate.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration blames the IRS’ lack of urgency to collect, and the incomplete information given to salon owners.

“The IRS quickly implemented the tanning tax under a tight deadline,” says J. Russell George, head of the inspector general’s office. “Since this was a brand new tax imposed on a group of businesses and taxpayers with no previous experience with excise taxes, the IRS should have done more to inform taxpayers of their filing responsibilities and bring them into compliance in a timely manner.”

What does all this mean for the tanning industry? It seems only time will tell. New measures are being implemented to ensure all tanning businesses were notified and complied with the levy, but it’s possible the revenue expected from the Tan Tax was grossly miscalculated, which is what members of the tanning industry have been saying from the beginning.

To read the entire USAToday.com article, please click here.