Brazilian Tax Deduction for Aesthetic Surgery

April 30, 2010 @ 12:16 PM — by Douglas Mackenzie

Tagged with: Aesthetic Surgery Brazil Taxes

We all know the Brazilian culture really appreciates beauty, but to allow tax deductions for aesthetic surgery, as described in this Bloomberg story, is still surprising.

The article quotes Joaquim Adir, income tax coordinator at the revenue service in Brasilia: “This new interpretation came from internal discussions about what were considered reconstructive and non-reconstructive surgeries,” he said in a phone interview. “We concluded that cosmetic surgeries are also about health, physical and mental, and should be included in the list of deductible expenses.” He admits the effect on tax revenues will be small.

Can you imagine this happening in the U.S.? I can't. Not when our government is trying to find every possible way to tax us more, and hide those taxes in clever ways that don't get noticed. When they're not so clever, or not so hidden, like the proposed "Botax" as part of the health care bill, they get the blowback they deserve.

Comments (1)

I agree in some extension that in some cases it should be part covered by the health department or insurance companies. For exemplo big breast, they can lead to serious back injuries, also people that suffer from sweeting could benefit from botox, some people has difficulty breathing, they could benefit from a nose job, reconstruction for women that had lost their breast from cancer, and so on. Plastic surgery is not always about being the most beautiful girl or man in the world, but for many is just something that could make them have a normal life and to live better, mental and physical health will always being linked to another. So yes I would like to plastic surgery be in some cases covered by the health department. If Brazil is doing that for their people, hey cheers and points to them!

Gia, about 2 years ago