‘Granholm needs to go back to Canada.?
That was Amy Atkeson’s response to the state’s decision last week to extend the 6 cents-per-dollar sales tax to the manicures and pedicures she gives at her salon, Fancy Feet & Fingers, in downtown Oxford.
‘I think what’s going to happen is I’m going to have to lower my prices to make up the difference or people are just going to stop coming in,? Atkeson said. ‘The majority of our clientele are either retired or working women.?
In an effort to help erase the projected $1.75 million deficit in the 2007-08 state budget, legislators approved extending the 6 percent sales tax, beginning Dec. 1, to approximately 60 services deemed ‘discretionary? or nonessential.
Atkeson disagreed with characterizing the services she provides as nonessential.
‘Pedicures are a necessity for a lot of people because they can’t take care of their own feet, especially when they’re diabetics or they’re elderly or they don’t have insurance to cover a podiatrist appointment,? she said. ‘Your feet are probably the most important part of your body because if they’re not feeling good you’re whole body’s going to hurt.?
‘I just don’t see that this is fair in any way at all whatsoever,? Atkeson added.
‘I’m furious about it,? said Donna Walker, owner of Head to Toes Massage Therapy on S. Washington St. ‘It’s going to hurt my business because I try to keep my prices 20 percent less than our competition and now I’ve got to add 6 percent on. Some clients really struggle as it is to pay the cost of the massage so they feel better.?
Walker is particularly upset that her business is being labeled a ‘luxury.?
‘Most of my clients don’t consider massage a luxury. They come here because they’re in pain,? she explained. ‘I’d say 50 percent of my clients are in some sort of pain whether it’s from a car accident, sports injury or they’re suffering from migraines or some other sort of chronic pain.?
According to Walker, ‘More and more doctors are prescribing massage therapy to patients.?
‘I’d like to see Jennifer Granholm explain to them how this is a luxury,? she said. ‘To them, they’re just trying to feel better.?
Walker sees this tax as bad news for an already struggling economy.
‘This is really going to hurt small business,? she said. ‘I think the government should be trying to encourage small business. It’s just getting tougher and tougher in Michigan to stay alive.?
Phill Stublensky, owner of Powerhouse Gym in Oxford, shared Walker’s sentiments.
‘I don’t understand what the Legislature’s doing,? he said. ‘They’ve run out the big business, now they’re starting to pick on the little businesses.?
Two of the services Powerhouse Gym provides, personal fitness training and tanning, will now be taxed.
‘Those services are pretty much where we make our money,? said Stublensky, noting the regular $39 per month gym memberships which aren’t being taxed mainly just help pay the bills.
Stublensky can’t see ‘taxing an industry that affects people’s lives and health.?
‘It’s really unfortunate that our government is putting small business in the position that they are,? he said. ‘I can foresee a lot of problems down the road. It may not affect us now, but a year or two down the road, it compounds. Each year (there are) more and more taxes and I’m sure they’re not stopping where they’re at now.?
‘It’s hard enough to collect the rent right now, how am I going to collect this (tax)?? asked Mike McQuade, owner of the 330-unit Stow-Away Storage, Inc. on Adventure Lane.
Sales tax will now be applied to self-storage services. Due to the poor state economy, McQuade said, ‘We’re not doing any business right now.?
‘It’s slow,? he said. ‘And this (tax) doesn’t help it, I can tell you that.?
Madeline Gentry, owner of Oxford Carpet Cleaning Company on Baldwin Rd. for 14 years, is uncertain how extending sales tax to her business will affect her bottom-line.
‘I’ve never charged tax,? she said. ‘I’ll just explain it to my customers and see how they react.?
Overall, Gentry believes her customers will be very understanding of the new tax.
‘I think my customers are good enough that they wouldn’t mind,? she said. ‘If you’ve got good customers, I don’t feel a couple dollars would matter.?
Anne Marie Roop, owner of the Oakwood Wedding Chapel on Baldwin Road, plans to include the new sales tax in her standard $650 package price, which she recently raised anyway because it was underpriced given the multitude of services it includes.
Roop said she won’t add the tax on because ‘I don’t want to have to nickel and dime them.?
Overall, she’s ‘not worried? about the tax adversely affecting her wedding chapel.
But she’s not happy about it either.
‘I’m not looking forward to it, but I guess it’s the way it is so I’ve got to deal with it,? Roop said.
Roop said she’s trying to look at all this in a ‘positive? way. ‘Maybe with this, everything will turn around,? she said. ‘They’ve got to do something. We’ve got to figure something out or everybody’s going to leave Michigan.?
Dianne Offer, owner of Interiors Unlimited on N. Mill St., isn’t happy about the sales tax. ‘It ticks me off,? she said.
On the other hand, Offer said, ‘It isn’t a big deal to me because I already sell product. I’m already reporting (to the state).?
In the past, Offer only had to charge sales tax on items she sold like rugs, chairs, tables, etc. Soon she will have to charge 6 percent on her consultation fees as an interior designer.
Offer said she could always charge the same rate, then pay the tax out of her pocket.
She does have serious reservations about some of the other services that will be soon be taxed.
‘A coat check girl? Hello? They don’t even make any money to begin with and your going to have them do all that paperwork (for the state),? she said. ‘Coat check girls aren’t going to do all that paperwork.?
‘I would like to know how Jennifer (Granholm) calculated this because half of the people on the list aren’t going to report any income anyway,? Offer noted. ‘I really question whether shoe shine people are really going to send 6 percent sales tax in.?