First she was punched in the face on national TV. Now she’s lost her fight with President Obama on taxes.
Long before the IRS admitted it was singling out conservative groups for special tax treatment, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi was herself complaining that she felt targeted by tax authorities for her lifestyle, which included visits to the local tanning salon.
“I don’t go tanning anymore, because Obama put a 10 percent tax on tanning,” she said on a 2010 episode of MTV’s “Jersey Shore.” In a reference to the former GOP presidential candidate, she went on to add that “McCain would never put a 10 percent tax on tanning. Because he’s pale and would probably want to be tan.”
The tanning tax in question is part of the Affordable Care Act. As with so many provisions of this law, it is designed to make ObamaCare more affordable by making life less affordable for others. This week the IRS finalized the regulations.
Of all the problems with ObamaCare, a tanning tax is hardly the worst. But even a quick read of the just-released IRS document shows that even a tax that sounds simple raises a host of questions that have to be addressed and adjudicated.
What about a fitness center that offers tanning but doesn’t charge separately? What about tanning bundled with, say, video rentals? What about someone who pays a fee that includes tanning but doesn’t use the service? It all adds up to a more complex code requiring more judgment calls from our friends at the IRS.
Give the newly thin Snooks her due: She had a better take on this than the president.