Botax: Nickname for a proposed tax on elective cosmetic-surgery procedures that's part of the Senate healthcare-reform bill. It's a pun on Botox®, the nonsurgical injection that smooths frown lines by temporarily paralyzing the muscles that cause them. Botox was coined from botulism toxin, from which the substance is purified.
"Botax" first surfaced as a perjorative term in the summer of 2009, especially on Fox News, whose commentators have been generally opposed to all Democratic-sponsored reform measures. The word appeared more frequently in mid-November, as the Senate prepared to debate the issue. From a Nov. 19 Associated Press report:
The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other procedures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.
Vanity was an easy target as lawmakers scraped for cash for the nearly $1 trillion plan to expand health care to millions of Americans who lack insurance. But it's no joke to the drug makers and people who perform the cosmetic nips and tucks. And they're fighting back.
Skin-smoothing Botox injections could be hard-hit. There were some 4.7 million last year and an average cost per visit of about $400, some including several injections.
"It is a random hit on an easy target that is only punitive and not corrective," said Caroline Van Hove, a spokeswoman for Allergan Inc., the maker of Botox Cosmetic. "The bottom line is that taxing cosmetic procedures is unnecessarily punitive on people who have merely decided to enhance their appearance." ...
The plastic surgeons may have seemed like an appealing bunch to pick on given that they had already been skeptical of the Democrats' overhaul proposal. But they say it will be a blow to countless American women — of every income level.
"The common misconception is that this is going to tax wealthy, suburban Republican women," said Dr. Phil Haeck of Seattle, Wash., the president-elect of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In fact, he said, of the 86 percent of cosmetic surgery patients who are female, 60 percent of them have incomes between $30,000 and $90,000.
In addition, he said the tax would be especially hurtful in tough economic times that have prompted many newly jobless women to look for ways to make themselves more marketable to prospective employers. He said, "They're competing with people 10 to 15 years younger than them and they want to look better."
People are also upset that the proposed bill will tax medical devices, including feminine hygiene products like tampons.
So I guess that's the Tamtax.
Posted by: panavia999 | November 23, 2009 at 10:07 AM