Taxing Cosmetic Procedures by Physicians: Is That Ethically Just?

From the Washington Times and United Press International:"California State Board of Equalization is considering a proposal to levy a tax on Botox, the prescription medication used by many men and women to temporarily eliminate their character lines. ... The Texas Legislature is considering a bill that includes a 7.5-percent tax on elective cosmetic surgery, while Washington state legislators are thinking about a 6.5-percent tax on cosmetic procedures that would be used to pay for children's healthcare."

It is interesting that state legislatures are considering to tax the professional acts or skills of physicians who do cosmetic procedures. What are the legislatures saying about these procedures? Is it that cosmetic procedures are all luxuries and deserve to be taxed. Are these considerations ethically just? And what is next? What is it that physicians do which will be taxed next in the frantic races of states to balance their budgets? By the way, I doubt those in state government will tax what lawyers do professionally since lawyers probably make up a good proportion of the legislators themselves. ..Maurice.