Washington State May End Cosmetic Surgery Tax Exemption, Colorado Votes No to Safe Products Act

Posted: March 9, 2010

Washington State House Democratic represenatatives have proposed raising $758 million to support state services and other programs in part by ending tax exemptions for items such as elective cosmetic surgery, among other things. The ending of the exemptions is targeted to aid in balancing the state’s budget and protect funding for education, health care and safety net programs.

Including extending a sales tax to bottled water, candy, gum, janitorial services and custom software, as well as cosmetic surgery procedures, the plan would affect elective cosmetic surgeries but not medically needed reconstuctuive surgeries. These items would no longer hold a tax exemption, making them available to be taxed.

This component of the plan would raise approximately $160 million, with an additional $112 million to be raised by increasing taxes on products such as cigarettes and upping business-and-occupation tax rates. The plan is proposed to close the $2.7 billion gap in the state’s two-year budget, running through June 2011.

Additionally, on March 1, 2010, Colorado's House Committee on Judiciary voted to indefinitely postpone House Bill 10-1248 (HB 1248), or the Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act.

The bill, introduced to the Colorado State Legislature on Feb. 3, 2010, by Rep. Diane Primavera (D-Broomfield) and Sen. Betty Boyd (D-Colorado), prohibited the sale of personal care products formulated with chemicals identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity. The bill stipulated that cosmetic manufacturers could not sell or distribute products containing potentially harmful ingredients in the state after Sept. 1, 2011.