LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) – As of Jan. 1, many businesses in Kentucky will have to start adding a 6% sales tax to their services.
For a full list of the 35 services affected by the new sales tax, click here: Sales Tax Facts 2022 – Sep.pdf (ky.gov)
Tattoo parlors are among the 35 services and the owner of Tattoo Charlie’s, Buddy Wheeler, has followed House Bill 8 closely.
“I don’t think it’s going to make a huge impact, it’s going to be a huge inconvenience with the extra paperwork,” Wheeler said. “I was glad to hear the governor was going to veto the bill, which he did, and then the legislature decided to move it through anyway. So, it seems like they’re shifting the tax burden more to businesses, and essentially small businesses.”
Personal fitness training services will also have to add a 6% sales tax, and one gym owner, Dale Robinson of Guru Fitness said he’s going to be upfront with his clients.
“And let them know, ‘Hey there’s a sales tax, and it’s not our doing, it comes from the government, those are things we have no control over,” Robinson said. “But eventually I feel like people will get over it and it becomes part of the norm, and you pay sales tax when you come to a fitness place.”
While certain businesses have a clear understanding of how the new sales tax will impact their services, there are other businesses that cannot say the same.
Instead, the fine print in House Bill 8 is vague and has left a lot of gray areas for the business to figure out.
Nicholasville business owner, Crystal Geis, has two businesses that are asking a lot of questions about the overnight change.
Geis owns AD-IOS Digital Marketing Co., a web developing platform, and The Lift Bar Med Spa. Her biggest concern is losing local business.
“If someone really didn’t want to pay for six-percent sales tax on a $5,000 dollar website, then they could easily go outside of our state and get those services,” Geis said. “We pay a hefty amount when we spend $3,500 a month in marketing and then you add 6% to that. that adds up and affects a small business owner and their bottom line, and they have to take that into consideration.”
Geis’ spa business is technically not a surgery service, so she’s confused if she should be charging her clients that extra 6%. As for her existing clients, she’s unsure if they will be grandfathered into the new year with their recurring contracts or will also have to pay the extra sales tax. She said she’s learning on her CPA and attorneys for guidance, and applying the 6% sales tax for the time being.
“There’s just so many questions right now, we’re doing it on everything, because we don’t have those answers, but in the future, I hope some of these questions can be answered,” Geis said.