‘She can take it and stick it where the sun don’t shine.?
That’s what Wayne Johnston, owner of the Backstreet Barber Shop in downtown Oxford, said Gov. Jennifer Granholm can do with her proposed 2 percent sales tax on services such as haircuts, bowling and movie tickets.
Granholm is proposing a new 2 percent sales tax starting June 1 on all business and consumer services not taxed under the state’s current 6-cent sales tax.
The proposal’s part of a broader tax restructuring the governor announced last week with the hopes of offsetting the state’s estimated $3 billion shortfall and generating another $1.2 billion in state revenue when fully implemented in three years.
‘It’s going to cost me more money in the long run,? Johnston said.
But the colorful barber wasn’t the only local business owner upset about the proposed tax increase.
‘I think it’s crazy,? said Chrystal Warfield, co-owner of Sisters Hair Care. ‘Right now, with the way the economy is in Michigan, people can’t afford to add on another 2 percent for a haircut. I think it’s a bad idea.?
‘Not only do I think it’s ridiculous, every customer in here is just laughing about it,? said Paul Waymaster, owner of Paul’s Barber Shop on W. Burdick St. ‘It’s the dumbest thing they’ve ever heard, especially for barber shops.?
‘They’re going to end up with a revolution if they do any more taxing, seriously,? said Doug O’Berry, who coordinates the adult and youth bowling leagues at Collier Lanes. ‘Isn’t that why we left England back in the 1700s??
‘Times are bad. All my costs are going up and then I have to add another 2 percent on top of everything,? said Sabrina Guzman, owner of Sabrina’s Salon in downtown Oxford. ‘That’s going to create a lot more paperwork and headaches for me.?
O’Berry said another tax would definitely hurt Collier Lanes, the Oxford area’s only bowling center.
‘This year with the economy the way it is, we’re paying our bills, period. We are not making a profit at all this year,? he said. ‘With a bowling center, you’re electric bill just for the running of the machines on a monthly basis is exorbitant.?
‘We’re down considerably. There’s been a few of us that have actually taken a pay cut just so we still have a job,? noted the former U.S. Marine and Vietnam veteran. ‘My job is to get people in these doors (to play on leagues). If I can’t get people in the door, I lose my job.?
‘I don’t know how small business owners survive in this state. I have no clue. They’re getting taxed to death as it is,? according to O’Berry.
Adding 2 percent sales tax would just be another nail in the state bowling industry’s coffin as far as O’Berry’s concerned. Back in 1981-82, what O’Berry referred to as the ‘heyday? of bowling in Michigan, there were 393 bowling alleys statewide.
‘Now, it’s down to less than 90,? he said. ‘That’s how many bowling centers have closed in this state alone. There’s more bowling centers in Pennsylvania now where’s Michigan used to have the most.?
To Bob Goodrich, president and secretary of Goodrich Quality Theaters which owns the Oxford 7 Theater, a 2 percent tax is ‘certainly a lot more palatable for my customers? than the governor’s talk in summer 2005 about expanding the 6 percent sales tax to include movie tickets.
‘I was one of those screaming the loudest,? Goodrich said.
In fact, when the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Theater Owners circulated a petition two years ago against expanding the sales tax to include movie tickets, a total of 1,200 movie goers at the Oxford 7 signed it, according to Andrea Smalt, assistant manager at the theater.
‘It was an overwhelming majority that did not want a tax on movie tickets,? Smalt said.
A 2 percent tax is ‘going to nick us,? but it’s not going to kill the theater business, according to Goodrich. ‘I can’t say a dime (in taxes per ticket) is going to hurt as much as 40 cents would have.?
However, he noted the theater business isn’t what it once was.
‘Our attendance is down in the industry as a whole,? Goodrich said. Because customers have so many entertainment options, like all the various cable channels, ‘films just don’t have the legs they once did.?
Although he’s ‘very grateful? for the proposed 2 percent service tax compared to some of the alternatives, Goodrich believes the ‘fairest tax? would be a ‘modest and as reasonably low as possible? corporate income tax.
‘Take a few more bucks out of everybody with a low rate corporate income tax? instead of ‘zeroing in on a few businesses to carry a disproportionate share? of the burden.
‘I’m looking for equity,? Goodrich said. ‘I think we’re making an improvement (with the proposed 2 percent tax), but wouldn’t it be the ultimate in fairness if there was tax that was as broadly based as possible.?