Every time you visit a hairdresser in New York, you pay a tax you never knew about

The owner of the iconic Astor Place barbershop in the East Village, whose regular customers include celebrities and even Mayor Bill de Blasio, is urging New York lawmakers to end the 4,5 percent tax on haircuts. This will help salons overcome the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. More details about the tax told the publication New York Post.

“Urban men and women hairdressers are unjustly taxed with this tax, even though they are among the hardest working and least able to afford it,” said Jonathan Trichter, owner of Astor Place.

“New York taxes haircuts, hair coloring, blow-drying, wet shaving, hair restoration, permanent makeup and straightening at a 4,5% rate. If the city asks the state to lower this tax, I will give the savings to our hairdressers and stylists, increasing their salaries by 4,5 percent, ”added Trichter.

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De Blasio has been trimmed twice a month for the past 20 years by a stylist named Alberto Amore from Astor Place. Business at his salon has dropped 50% from before the pandemic, Trichter said.

“Mayor Bill de Blasio is one of our most loyal customers. He has been coming here since he began his studies at New York University. Of course, he will always be welcome here, ”said Trichter.

“But if he does not support the abolition of the tax, then Alberto will start cutting his hair with his left hand,” he joked.

The New York establishment also boasts of having haircuts for actors Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, Kevin Bacon, Edward Byrne, and comedian Sinbad. The barbershop virtually closed during the 1970s economic crisis but escaped by developing a punk rock style.

Trichter and other investors stepped in last fall to prevent Astor Place Barbers from closing after 75 years as the pandemic hit the establishment hard.

Trichter stressed that hairdressers rely heavily on tips. Their base wage is $ 15 an hour, the New York State minimum wage.

“This tax cannot bring significant income to the city treasury. At the same time, every penny counts with hairdressers who have been unemployed for a whole year due to COVID-19, ”Trichter said.

“We are among the last family businesses in New York. This is a tax that is borne by small business owners and their employees, who may never fully recover from their COVID-related losses, ”said the owner of Astor Place.

Trichter noted that there is a $ 28,6 billion federal restaurant fund that is helping restaurants recover from the pandemic, but barbershops have received no help.

Alberto Amore said that during a haircut, the mayor of New York usually talks about football and other sports. The hairdresser added that they easily hit it off as both are of Italian descent.

When asked if he and the mayor would raise the issue of the haircut tax the next time he put him in a hairdresser's chair, Amore replied: “I'll try. It depends on his mood and how I feel. It is not easy to raise such questions. "

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Amore joked that de Blasio usually blames his political enemy, Governor Andrew Cuomo, for pressing problems when political issues are raised during a haircut.

“It would be nice to lower the tax and it would be nice if he could fix it, but is the problem with him or Cuomo? He tells me all the time: “This is not my problem. This is Cuomo's problem. " This is what he tells me all the time, about anything - the subway, the homeless, crime - this is Cuomo's problem, ”Amore said.

De Blasio's spokesman Bill Neidhardt said of the haircut tax: “The Mayor loves Astor Place and was trying to save his beloved hairdresser. I'm sure this will be the topic of conversation during his next haircut. "