"Boob tax" to increase cost of cosmetic surgery by 20 per cent

The British HM Revenue and Customs is planning to impose a tax on cosmetic surgeries by slapping VAT on any artificial enhancements and procedures. According to the new guidelines by the department responsible for collecting UK’s taxes, doctors performing more invasive procedures will have to register for VAT and pass the charge on to their patients.

Off late, VAT used to be charged only on minor treatments including Botox injections and chemical peels carried out in High Street beauty salons, but the new move, which has already been dubbed as “boob tax” by the cosmetic industry, would send the cost of breast enlargements, facelifts, tummy tucks and liposuction up by 20 percent.

The guidelines suggest that patients having such cosmetic procedures will have to pay the tax unless they can persuade the doctor that the operation is being carried out for “therapeutic” reasons. Although the move is being considered to help plug the deficit in Britain’s public finances, but Fazel Fatah, president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), said that this 0could harm many patients.

“The subjective proposals being put forward by HMRC will potentially harm large numbers of patients,” the Daily Mail quoted Fatah as saying. “They imply that, by definition, any procedure that corrects appearance rather than function is not a medical need. There has been no meaningful discussion with the professional bodies involved.

“We can only hope that common ground can be found that protects the wellbeing of patients while balancing the obvious need to increase tax revenues. With surgery, we are dealing with human lives,”he said. Former plastic surgery patient, Imogen Thomas, a 28-year-old model, has condemned the proposals to impose VAT on cosmetic procedures as they feel it will penalise people who want to look better. “Some people, women especially, suffer psychologically if they don’t feel their bodies are up to scratch,” Thomas said.

“That’s a very real condition. I don’t like the idea of the Government paying off debt with money from cosmetic surgery. It penalises people who want to better themselves,” she added.