Wherever serious salon business conversations are happening, ISBN members add the multi-unit perspective to the dialogue. ISBN President Scott Missad, president and CEO of Gene Juarez Salons and Spas in Seattle, recently spoke at the Intercoiffure America/Canada Fall Atelier in New York City. He used part of his time on stage to update the gathering of salon owners, managers, artistic teams and industry partners on ISBN’s part in industry-wide support of legislative efforts to help salon, spa and barber businesses of all size and scale earn the same money-saving FICA Tip Tax Credit that the restaurant industry has benefited from since 1993.
“There are few things we as an entire industry can all get on the same page about, but between ISBN and Intercoiffure, this is a no brainer, because we’re all employers,” Missad says. “We’re all paying 7.65% in taxes on our employees’ tips—on money we never see.”
According to Missad, once salon owners realize or calculate what they’re paying out over a year, and what could be saved and reallocated if H.R. 1349 or S.2634 gets passed into law, they realize it’s a fight worth investing in personally.
“I can speak to our books at Gene Juarez and say there would be no other business improvement we could make that would represent the same amount of money if paying FICA on those tips would go away,” Missad says.
During and after Missad’s session at Intercoiffure, many owners rallied and started making donations on behalf of their businesses. Van Council, owner of Van Michael Salons in Atlanta, instantly committed $500 per location, or $4,000, and challenged other owners to do the same.
Learn more about the FICA Tip Tax Credit and donate to support ISBN’s lobbying efforts on behalf of the entire industry today.