Two issues of immediate importance to the professional beauty industry are fairness in taxation and access to cosmetology education. H.R. 3724, the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act, would make it possible for salon owners to claim a tax credit for the FICA taxes they must now pay on their employees’ tips, a benefit that restaurant owners already receive. The legislation will also improve income reporting within the industry.
The Professional Beauty Association’s Serena Chreky of Andre Chreky, the salon
spa, and Bruce Selan, chair of PBA’s Board of Directors and vice president of
Zotos, greet Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (in pink), representing Nevada’s 1st
district, and the sponsor of H.R. 3724, the Small Business Tax Equalization and
Compliance Act.
In regards to education, the PBF supports recent Congressional efforts to promote and expand access to postsecondary education and enhance students' ability to choose the type of educational program that best meets their own individual, professional career & employment goals. In a $60 billion a year industry where job market demand for qualified applicants exceeds supply by more than three-to-one, it is vitally important to the PBF that Congress preserve a student's ability to enroll in cosmetology institutions of higher education, receive the benefits of a quality postsecondary education, and are prepared to enter the ranks of our professional workforce.
“This important event brings an entire $60 billion industry to Capitol Hill in just one day,” explains Eric Schwartz, president of the PBF. “It provides the perfect forum for our legislators to learn about important small-business and education issues that affect millions of their constituents, while they enjoy the services that are performed by 1.6 million licensed professionals hundreds of times a day in hundreds of salons in each of their districts.”
