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Christine Palmer doesn't like Gov. Dan Malloy's budget plan. Nor does her friendly competitor down the street, Virginia Kunkel. "It is what it is," the Norwalk salon owner said of Malloy's plan to put a sales tax on haircuts. "But I feel badly because I know it's not going to go where it's needed, it's going to go in someone's back pocket." "He's crazy," said Kunkel, who is also a hairdresser. "He better not even think about it. I pay enough taxes on this small business."
It's clear -- 100 percent of the women who own hair salons on Van Zant Street are unhappy with the new governor's proposal. And theyre right in line with a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing that a majority of state residents give Malloy's plan a "thumbs down."
Both women have been on Van Zant Street for 13 years. Palmer owns A Visual Touch at No. 72, and Kunkel owns Sassy Scissors Salon at No. 32. "I've seen a lot of changes," Palmer said, "but these are the worst changes we've seen now."
"Taxes are the last thing we need to go up in Norwalk," Kunkel said. "They should make cuts in other areas, put freezes on pay, do other things."
They say a number of local hair salons have closed since the economy went into a ditch and that the sales tax will not help as it will push up the price of a salon cut.
Tom Closter, director of environmental services at the Department of Health, disagrees with the assertion that a lot of salons have closed. There are usually between 90 and 100 salons in Norwalk, he says, and currently there are 94. "The number is pretty steady," he said. "We've had some close, we've had some open."
Some salons go out of business because they don't have the proper licenses, a regulation Closter says he has been systematically enforcing for several years. "We closed one a week or two ago," he said.
Palmer and Kunkel share the perspective of business owners who interact with people from all levels of the economic spectrum. "You hear sad stories all the time," Kunkel said. "They're getting laid off, losing their homes. You hear one after another. How can you raise taxes?"
Palmer agreed that people are cutting back, but she nevertheless has more customers. People who used to get their hair done in someone's home now want it cut in a "feel-good atmosphere" because they're saving money to get their hair done and they need a pick-me-up.
Kunkel said sales taxes will mean she will spend more on accountants. Palmer said she'll do that herself, but that isn't the issue. "Even if it gave me an extra hour, I wouldn't mind if I knew the money would go where it needs to be," she said.
What do you think of Malloy's plan?
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