Planet Fitness Applies Obamacare Tanning Tax to Members

Some locations of the Planet Fitness health club chain have begun charging some of their members a portion of the indoor tanning services tax mandated by the Affordable Care Act, whether or not they use the tanning services.

The Affordable Care Act mandated a 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services starting July 1, 2010 as a way to help pay for the cost of the legislation.

A Planet Fitness center in Falls Church, Va., began adding a 5 cents per month charge to the holders of all of its Black Card accounts, according to an article on MyFoxNY.com. Other locations are charging their members 60 cents a month.

Accounting Today contacted Planet Fitness to find out more about how it is charging the tax to its members.

“The Affordable Care Act imposes a tax on all tanning salons,” said spokeswoman McCall Gosselin. “Because some Planet Fitness locations offer tanning as an amenity for PF Black Card members, this particular tax is assessed as a percentage of the estimated value of the tanning portion of the monthly membership fee. The vast majority of Planet Fitness Clubs are owned and operated by individual franchisees, and it is their discretion as to whether they pass along applicable federal and local taxes onto their members, or assume the taxes themselves. In addition to tanning, Planet Fitness Black Card memberships also include a variety of other benefits such as reciprocal use of all Planet Fitness locations in the chain, the ability to bring a guest every day, unlimited use of HydroMassage beds, massage chairs and more.”

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