Knives drawn over the ‘Botax’

December 4, 2009

By hammersmith

[Source: The WSJ] – Leading makers of antiwrinkle drugs, breast implants and other appearance-related products are trying to derail a proposed tax on elective cosmetic surgery in the Senate’s health-overhaul bill.

The proposed 5% levy — dubbed the “Botax” after the antiwrinkle treatment product Botox — would raise an estimated $5.8 billion over 10 years.

New Jersey imposes a 6% tax on certain cosmetic procedures, but the Botax proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would be the first federal tax on such treatments.

Two leading companies in aesthetic treatments, Allergan Inc. and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp., are mounting lobbying and public-relations campaigns against the proposed levy. Allergan, the maker of Botox, started the Web site stopcosmetictax.org to help patients email complaints to their senators. It is also supplying physicians with fliers to post in their offices and drafts of letters to send to patients.

For more information: Knives Drawn Over the ‘Botax’