[2] The tanning tax originates from passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
[3] Phototherapy services, which the IRS defines as a "service which exposes an individual to specific wavelengths of light for the treatment of dermatological conditions, sleep disorders, seasonal affective disorder or other psychiatric disorder, neonatal jaundice, wound healing, or other medical condition determined by a licensed medical professional to be treatable by exposing the individual to specific wavelengths of light" are excluded from the tax if they are performed by a licensed medical professional on that professional's premises.
[2] If tanning services are provided as part of a gym membership that is considered a "qualified physical fitness facility",[a] the tax is not applicable.
[4] According to the American Suntanning Association, almost 10,000 tanning salons have gone out of business since the tax went into effect, resulting in the loss of 81,000 jobs.
[3] Business owners say the "little-noticed 10 percent tax on tanning in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has crippled the industry," according to the Denver Post.