Users of tanning beds likely will see a price increase when the tanning tax goes into effect June 1. (Photo courtesy of Zach Neugebauer)

ST. PAUL, Minn.-Tommies may pay more to be tan this year.

As part of the recently passed health care bill, a new tanning tax will put a 10 percent sales tax on the service, meaning it’ll take a little more green to get that desired bronze.

The new sales tax goes into effect June 1. The tax applies to tanning beds, stand-up tanning booths and sun lamps, but tanning lotions and spray-tan services will not see an increase in tax.

The tax is directed at tanning salon owners who will likely have to pass the cost on to clients, but that’s somethingSt. Thomassenior and Year Round Brown Vice President Zach Neugebauer doesn’t want to do.

Neugebauer has seven tanning salons inSouth Dakota. He started playing a role in the 30 year-old family business as a freshman in college and prompted a complete remodel of the salons and of the company’s overall image.

“My vision was always give your customers that five-star experience, that Four Seasons Hotel experience but give that to them at a value price,” Neugebauer said.

But with the tanning tax, giving customers value will be hader than ever. Neugebauer said he doesn’t want to increase prices to compensate for the new tax, but said he will have to see what the next six months to a year will bring. He said by increasing sales or the price of products, the company may be able to lighten the burden.

But no matter what it does, Neugebauer understands that with clientele in their teens and twenties, his business will likely take a hit.

The new tax was originally meant to be a 5 percent sales tax on Botox and other elective cosmetic procedures, but was changed to a tanning tax after forceful lobbying by the plastic surgery industry and Botox manufacturers.

Senior Tiffany Bloomquist said the increased price will change the habits of some tanners, but it won’t get them to leave tanning altogether.

“I think if they tan often and they tan on a regular basis, more than just a few times a week, especially like in the summer, then they’re going to go no matter what,” Bloomquist said.

Bloomquist is already locked in to her year-round tanning package and said she likely will not see a price increase after June 1.

“I think it may have a consequence as maybe more people will start to learn about tanning and what kind of tanning is bad tanning and what kind of tanning is OK,” Bloomquist said. “They’ll start to educate themselves more about how tanning is affecting them.”

The economic situation

The proposed tax on Botox was expected to raise $5 billion in 10 years, while the tanning tax is only expected to bring in about half of that, $2.7 billion in the next decade.

“[The tanning tax] is very questionable, even if you’re for or against tanning just on an economic standpoint,” Neugebauer said. “The numbers are not quite the same, but in politics that’s kind of the way it goes.”

However the numbers add up, Neugebauer said the tax isn’t fair for small business owners, especially when on Capitol Hill, the tanning industry is the underdog.

“It’s tough to get a bunch of ‘mom and pop’ shops all across the country together, raise the finances, the money and lobby,” Neugebauer said. “And so the medical association with their big companies and they have all kinds of dollars, they can lobby all day long, it’s very tough for us.”

As part of their tapering regimen before the championships, the teams swim laps in McCarthy Gym on South Campus. (Ashley Bolkcom/TommieMedia)

Both the men’s and women’s teams are already one week into a two-week “taper” that will prepare them to hit the pool Feb. 18-20 for the conference championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.

Tapering is the gradual reduction in yards the team swims at practice, and junior Matt Moore said the reduction is a welcome relief at this stage of the season.

“We practice for three months at full capacity as hard as we can, and our bodies need time to rejuvenate,” Moore said. “So when we taper, basically all we’re doing is resting our body but staying in good enough shape that when we go to the swim meet, we’re going to be fast and at our best possible place bodily.”

During this two-week process, swimmers try to exert themselves as little as possible both inside and outside the water, which also means a strict ban on staircases.

“It’s kind of a pain in the butt, especially when you’re running a little late at 8 in the morning,” freshman Sam Rauchwarter said. “For me it gets a little annoying because I like taking the stairs, but that’s a part of taper too. You save up your energy so you kind of get wired for a couple of weeks, and then you let it all out in three days.”

A shave above the rest

Although tapering does have physical benefits for the swimmers, Moore said during this time of the season mental preparation is just as important as physical. While meditating and keeping MIAC times posted to their walls may be enough for most athletes, swimmers have been known to take the mental game a hair-length further.

“A lot of it is mental but it is a part of the experience,” junior Becca Ney said. “It’s interesting that we all bond over hairy legs.”

Swimmers fully shave before hitting the conference pool. For the women, this means not shaving a full month beforehand,which is something they and the men in their lives, sometimes have a hard time living with.

“It’s pretty hard. The boys don’t like it very much,” senior Ali Krieger said. “It’s kind of weird. Your sheets and clothes feel really weird on you and stuff, but it’s fun. It’s another thing that kind of brings us together.”

And the men on the team are not left out in this process.

“I shave my body, arms and all,” Rauchwarter said. “It’s kind of cool to get a legitimate excuse you could say for shaving for once. You shave and then you put on lotion and stuff, and it feels super smooth, and you’re like, ‘Oh, this is why girls do this all of the time.’”

Whether the experience is enjoyable or not, Moore said it’s less about the physical drag in the pool and more about the mental feeling in the water.

“The reason for shaving is when you shave, you take off the first layer of skin as well as the hair, and so when you jump into the water, into a cold pool, you get kind of tingly,” Moore said. “It gives you a mental stimulus, your body is excited, you’re ready to go.”

Aiming for the top spot

St. Thomas took third at last year’s MIAC Championships, and even though the women are expecting to do the same, the men are looking to grab first place. St. Thomas men’s swimming has not claimed the championship in more than 50 years. For 31 of those years, coach Tom Hodgson has led the team. He said the physical work the swimmers have done in the pool this year will be waiting for them at conference. All they have to do now is trust that it will be there.

“If you start worrying about how you’re going to do and start fretting about that, the nerves will take you and run you right out of the pool,” Hodgson said.

But with a championship-sized crowd in the stands, keeping those nerves in check will be difficult, especially for first-time conference swimmers.

“I’m definitely nervous,” Rauchwarter said. “I know from hearing from everyone, the energy level at the pool is just ridiculous. It is just out of this world, I guess.”

As time until conference gradually dwindles down, the energy level in the pool is building up: energy the team hopes can bring a MIAC title.

“Scale of 1 to 10, I’m a 12,” Moore said. “It’s one of those times of the year where you just can’t help but be excited.”