Los Angeles is the capital of tanning. (We know, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hasn't made this declaration yet, but we assure you, he will). Now, hold on to something and breathe steadily, especially you George Hamilton, the cast of E! reality show Sunset Tan, and Tan Stewie, because what we're about to tell you might shatter your melanin-rich world.

The U.S. Senate has added a proposed 10 percent tax on indoor tanning as part of its version of the health care and insurance coverage bill pushed by the Obama Administration. We know, we know, this is an extreme injustice for sexy tan lines everywhere. Don't blame the messenger.

The proposal was slipped into the Senate bill over the weekend, apparently to replace funds that would have been collected under a five percent tax on elective plastic surgery. That so-called “bo-tax” was scrapped, however, after lobbyists from the American Medical Association protested.

As New York magazine notes, the fake-bake industry apparently doesn't have as much clout in Washington as the AMA. Either way, L.A. is going to be an uglier place if this thing passes. We're the capital of nip-tuck too.

We say all you customers at Darque Tan in Beverly Hills, the many characters of Sunset Tan (Holly & Molly, Keely, Janelle, Ania and, of course, Jeff and Devin), and yeah, you folks at Melrose Tanning Company — all of you need to get to Washington and make sure you are judged not by the bodacious, beach-ready color of your skin, but by the content of your characters.

No taxation without representin,' y'all.

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