58 Tanning Salons Have Closed Due To ObamaCare’s Indoor Tanning Tax 

Two years ago, liberal United States Senator Amy Klobuchar provided President Barack Obama with a crucial vote for his $2.5 trillion job-killing healthcare bill, which contained a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning and has now resulted in the closure of nearly 60 tanning salons in Minnesota.

As the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

The recession and a still-sluggish economy have pulled many businesses under. Indoor tanning salons say they’ve been dealt an additional blow, courtesy of the federal government.  The Indoor Tanning Association, an industry group, claims that 14 percent of tanning salons in Minnesota have gone out of business since 2009, a decline from 477 to 419. The group blames the additional burden of a 10 percent tax placed on salons starting July 1, 2010, as part of the health care reform law. … “Whether or not you think people should be sun-tanning, the government is picking winners and losers by using the tax code to punish businesses,” said John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association. “This is not the way to write tax policy. It’s unfair, and it shouldn’t be done.” (Jackie Crosby, Indoor tanning operators say they’re getting burned by tax, Star Tribune, 12/16/11)

Notably, ObamaCare’s indoor tanning tax isn’t the only tax that could kill jobs in Minnesota, as Ms. Klobuchar knows far too well the medical device tax in the healthcare law will take effect in one year, which could kill thousands of jobs in the Gopher State.

“Thanks to Amy Klobuchar’s vote for government-run healthcare, which contained a massive indoor tanning tax, a number of Minnesota small businesses are paying a very tough price,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “Between the tanning tax and the Democrats’ medical device tax – which affects 50,000 Minnesotans – it’s clear Klobuchar’s healthcare law is killing jobs in the Gopher State.”    

BACKGROUND …

OBAMACARE HAS KILLED NEARLY 60 TANNING SALONS IN MINNESOTA

STAR TRIBUNE:  “The recession and a still-sluggish economy have pulled many businesses under. Indoor tanning salons say they’ve been dealt an additional blow, courtesy of the federal government.  The Indoor Tanning Association, an industry group, claims that 14 percent of tanning salons in Minnesota have gone out of business since 2009, a decline from 477 to 419. The group blames the additional burden of a 10 percent tax placed on salons starting July 1, 2010, as part of the health care reform law. … ‘Whether or not you think people should be sun-tanning, the government is picking winners and losers by using the tax code to punish businesses,’ said John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association. ‘This is not the way to write tax policy. It’s unfair, and it shouldn’t be done.’” (Jackie Crosby, Indoor tanning operators say they’re getting burned by tax, Star Tribune, 12/16/11) 

AND THE HEALTHCARE LAW WILL SOON KILL SOME OF MINNESOTA’S MEDICAL DEVICE JOBS

Boston Scientific Says Obama’s Medical Device Tax Could Kill 45,000 Jobs Nationwide.  “Boston Scientific’s chief executive yesterday ripped a tax on medical devices slated for 2013 and anticipated major layoffs at the Natick company if the levy — part of President Obama’s health-care overhaul — isn’t repealed. … Elliott’s comments came a week after trade group AdvaMed released a study finding that the 2.3 percent federal excise tax would lead to more than 45,000 job losses nationwide …” (Greg Turner, Boston Scientific CEO: Medical tax will mean job cuts, Boston Herald, 09/15/11)