A tanning tax.
Twitter has reacted to the Government’s new tanning tax.
Minister for Finance and for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe has announced that VAT on sunbed services will increase from 13.5% to 23%.
His reasons for the increase were down to health grounds, with skin cancer one of the main factors for the change, and, although the tax on tanning is a first for the government, it has been described as a big step in tackling Ireland’s most prevalent cancer.
The proposal was initially moved by the Social Democrats in the run-up to Budget 2018 where they asked for a levy to be imposed on sunbed use.
Yessss sunbed tax, so obvious but I never would have thought of it #Budget2018
— Helena von Vandervon (@onenonevent) October 10, 2017
VAT rate on sunbed services from 13.5% to 23%. Minister cites link with skin cancer, most prevalent cancer in Ireland #Budget2018 #Budget18
— Dominic Coyle (@ITdominiccoyle) October 10, 2017
Tax on your tan!. VAT on sunbed services to be increased from 13.5% to 23% on health grounds. More needs to be done to regulate and ensure under 18 years olds are not using sun beds.
— Senator Eugene Murphy (@SenatorEMurphy) October 10, 2017
Of course, everyone was making the same joke about the few minutes in the Budget where the increase on cigarettes, sugar tax and sunbed tax were all announced…
Today is a very, very bad day for sunbed loving smokers partial to fizzy drinks. They'll be worse of by more than 500 quid a year. #Budget18
— Conor Pope (@conor_pope) October 10, 2017
It will be expensive to have a smoke, while on a sunbed, drinking a Coke.#Budget18
— Charlie Weston (@CWeston_Indo) October 10, 2017
If you're a sunbed loving smoker who likes fizzy drinks, uh oh #Budget18
— Deborah Naylor (@DebsNaylor) October 10, 2017
Those three big hitters came nearly one after another but thankfully, the tax on a big bag of cans is safe, for this year anyway…
Bad day for the smoking, fizzy drinking,sunbed lovers in Ireland, just waiting for a tax on a bag of cans& new flat screen TVs now!#Budget18
— Gar (@Tiananmens) October 10, 2017
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