Tax Docket

As part of a Special Edition Tax Tip, the IRS provides 9 Tips on the 10 Percent Tax on Tanning Services for businesses offering tanning services :

Businesses providing ultraviolet tanning services must collect the 10 percent excise tax at the time the customer pays for the tanning services.

If the customer fails to pay the excise tax, the tanning service provider is liable for the tax.

The tax does not apply to phototherapy services performed by a licensed medical professional on his or her premises.

The tax does not apply to spray-on tanning services.

If a payment covers charges for tanning services along with other goods and services, the other goods and services may be excluded from the tax if they are separately stated and the charges do not exceed the fair market value for those other goods and services.

If the customer purchases bundled services and the charges are not separately stated, the tax applies to the portion of the payment that can be reasonably attributed to the indoor tanning services.

The tax does not have to be paid on membership fees for certain qualified physical fitness facilities that offer indoor tanning services as an incidental service to members without a separately identifiable fee.

Tanning service providers must report and pay the excise tax on a quarterly basis.

To pay the tax, businesses must file IRS Form 720, Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return using an Employer Identification Number assigned by the IRS. Businesses that don’t already have one can apply for an EIN online at IRS.gov.

Other resources:

Excise on Indoor Tanning Services FAQs

Affordable Care Act Tax Provisions

And for good measure a video from the IRS explaining the tax. Enjoy!

On Wednesday, The Hill reported that Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill that places an $0.25 excise tax on companies that transfer domestic service calls to foreign call centers:

“If we want to put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs, than we need to provide incentives for American companies to keep American jobs here,” Schumer said in prepared remarks. “This bill will not only serve to maintain call center jobs currently in the United States, but also provide a reason for companies that have already outsourced jobs to bring them back.”
Under the bill, companies would incur a $0.25 excise tax for any domestic customer service call that is transferred overseas.

Companies must also disclose to the caller that their call is being transferred overseas and name which country is receiving the call.

According to the Wall Street Journal, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has vetoed a bill that would have increased the nation’s lowest cigarette tax by 50 cents per pack. The proposed legislation would have raised the tax from 7 cents per pack to 57 cents per pack.

Below is a map published by Tax Foundation which shows the state excise tax rates on cigarettes per 20-pack of cigarettes as of January 1, 2009. Click the map to enlarge.

Tax Foundation published this Map of State Excise Tax Rates on Beer.  You can click on the map to enlarge it. Cheers!