Cosmetic Surgery Taxes Hurt Women

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) strongly opposes taxes on elective cosmetic surgery and physician services as a way to fix state budget shortfalls or fund new or ailing programs, the society said in a statement today.

The ASPS, the largest organization of board-certified plastic surgeons in the world, issued the statement citing multiple reasons against these taxes when Washington became the third state to propose a "cosmetic surgery tax." New Jersey was the first state to pass a tax of this kind in 2004 and a tax has been proposed on elective cosmetic surgery in Illinois to fund a stem cell research institute.Read more...