On the recordMay 12, 2011
as ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I am delighted to rise today, on the eve of National Small Business Week, with Senator Landrieu, who is Chair of the Committee, to introduce the Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act. Our bipartisan measure is a pro-small business bill and would allow the salon industry to have the same tax rules on tips paid to employees as is permitted in the restaurant industry. The legislation would increase compliance with payroll tax obligations and will make sure that the women who work in the salon industry earn all the Social Security retirement and disability benefits they should be entitled to. It would also help to prevent salons that do not follow the tax law from gaining a competitive disadvantage against those that do follow the law. Congressman Sam Johnson, R-TX, is leading the charge on a companion bill in the House. Clearly this legislation will help all parts of the salon industry, big and small, men and women. But the reality is that because 84 percent of the workforce in the salon industry is female, this issue has special relevance for women. When women work as independent contractors at hair salons, they are less likely to disclose all of their tips for purposes of paying Social Security taxes. As a result, they reduce their future right to earn retirement and disability benefits in the Social Security system and reduce the size of any benefit they do ultimately earn.…
