We've all been there: you stroll into the bodega that is Epicerie Boulud, casually pick up some charcuterie because you're craving some cured meats then WHAM: they add an unlawful sales tax to your country pâté. State law prevents certain foods from being taxed, but the Post reports that the tax code itself is so confusing that many businesses don't know when it applies. Want proof that the 99% is getting the shaft? A soda tax is discussed before a pâté tax is. more ›

Trigger happy former FBI agent, "hedge fund guy" and current Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm has banked much of his career opposing "Obamacare." As part of this opposition, Grimm has sponsored a bill to repeal the "tanning tax" that currently imposes a 10% levy on indoor tanning salons that is projected to raise $2.5 billion in two years, and will help offset the cost of health care reform. Now, the Indoor Tanning Association has cut Grimm a $500 contribution check for his efforts, and if there was any doubt before, Grimm appears to be deep in the pocket of Big Bronze. more ›

If you're laying out in the sun this summer, getting those pretty cancer lines we all desire, and you start to inexplicably smell delicious BBQ, you bathing suit may in fact be cooking you! A Long Island woman is suing a swimwear manufacturer after the underwire of her bikini top gave her third degree burns. more ›

Well, here's a new one: cops in Mishawaka, Indiana were called to a local park to investigate reports of a naked man sunbathing. When they arrived, they did indeed discover one Mr. Michael Donte Booth, entirely au natural and glistening with olive oil. Nearby, officers found the book Gay Power, a “Kroger bottle of extra virgin olive oil,” two cans of Miller beer, and Marlboro cigarettes. Booth's response? “I’m from New York. Can’t I do this here?” more ›

Remember last year, when Snooki-loving youngsters looking for that perfect bronze-from-a-box got a little scare? Not the cancer kind (as if), more like fun-hating lawmakers trying to ban teens from using tanning beds, like, ever. The measure didn't go through at the time, so pasty-skinned teens continued to get their glow on without fear—until now. more ›

The state's GTL addicts may be forced to take out the T depending on how old they are. Since the World Health Organization classified tanning as a human carcinogen, health advocates have been pushing for more regulation on the state's tanning salons. But haven't the pretty ones been punished enough? more ›

There are too many amazing quotes in the Post's piece on how the new sin taxes are affecting fit, attractive 19-year-olds. "How can they tax me for trying to be pretty?" asks FIT student Jenna Goldschmidt, who must now pay $30 more a month for cigarettes and $40 more a month for tanning sessions. "Everyone likes to look pretty—and when I get stressed I need smoke. I need both." But isn't she worried about the health risks? "I am one of those girls who is invincible," she says. Ahh, youth. more ›

Congressional Democrats hope a new tax on tanning will help them fund their health-care overhaul bill. The 10 percent “vanity tax” could take affect as soon as this summer and would apply to indoor and outdoor salons citywide, according to the News. A representative of the industry was enraged by the threatened price hike. "Tax policy shouldn't be made like this - it shouldn't be based on one industry's grudge against the other," said Indoor Tanning Association executive director John Overstreet. One tanner implied that with the sunny months coming, she might have to head outdoors (Gasp!). "It's already too expensive," said student Lia Pettineo, 22. "Once summer is here officially, I'll stop." Tanning opponents says the ultraviolet beds cause melanoma and call them “the cigarettes of our times.” more ›

Staten Island may be known best known for its guido culture, but the Staten Island Advance reports today on a little something that may just help shed that stigma: a gallery of adorable images of a seal basking in the sun! They say that every day this seal "can be found enjoying the early morning sunlight in Annadale," spotted most mornings on a rock in the waters off Lipsett Avenue (unlike other locals who can be found at Hollywood Tans). One woman delcares: "I've never seen anything like that on Staten Island." more ›

With sand being a danger to beachgoers this summer, many might be seeking their sun-kissed glow from one of the many tanning beds around the city. But wait, those aren't safe either! 1010WINS warns they are now in the top cancer risk category, "deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas" and pointing towards a new study that says "the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30." What's most surprising is that we are hearing this in 2009. Anyway, since experts have now found that all types of ultraviolet radiation are carcinogenic (previously, only one type was thought to be lethal), what will it mean for tanning salons? The new classification places them alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus, chimney sweeping, and other things that can definitely cause cancer. Find out what else will likely kill you, tonight at 11. more ›