Tanning salons wary of 10 percent tax

MADISON, Wis., March 26 (UPI) -- Owners of tanning salons in Wisconsin say they are worried about a federal plan to implement a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services.

The tax to take effect July 1 has Dale Suslick, who owns nine Madison Tanning Co. salons, concerned about the effect on smaller salons, the Wisconsin State Journal said Thursday.

"We've talked to a lot of other people who have sun spas, and they are closing up shop," Suslick said. "This is the death sentence for a lot of them. Some were kind of making it, but now they are looking to sell or get out of the business altogether."

Linda McCoy, who owns tanning salons in Middleton and Fitchburg, Wis., said consumers will likely also feel the impact of the new tax plan.

"For them to tax us, it's really going to hurt the small-business owners," McCoy said. "That's going to have to be passed on to the consumer. We don't have enough to absorb that."

The federal tax does not apply to alternative tanning methods, such as sprays, the State Journal said.