On the recordMay 26, 2010
as Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I am delighted to rise today, during 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. 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.
