Winning Tax Fairness
For America’s Salons & Barbershops
Challenge
For 20 years, salon and barbershop owners tried and failed to secure a tip credit for their industry. Despite repeated efforts, Congress consistently overlooked them and their tax specialist consultant.
Salon owners were required to pay payroll taxes on tips—even though those tips were given directly to employees. Unlike restaurants, which had successfully secured a tip credit in the 1990s, salons were left on the outside looking in. This inequity raised costs for thousands of small businesses, stifled growth, and made it harder for owners to reinvest in their people and communities.
They turned to CGCN. In less than a year, CGCN’s integrated approach accomplished what two decades of fragmented advocacy could not.
Strategy & Execution
Authentic Voices
We began by putting real salon and barbershop owners at the center of the campaign. Their stories brought the issue to life in a way no white paper or tax memo ever could. Through carefully crafted testimonials and op-eds, we made policymakers confront the human side of the tax disparity: hardworking small business owners forced to pay an unreasonable tax on tips, a burden from which those in the restaurant industry are exempt. By elevating these voices in both Beltway publications and key district outlets, members of Congress heard directly from their own constituents.
Policymaker Outreach
To complement the storytelling, salon and barbershop owners and employees called their lawmakers to make their voices heard, while in-person lobbying reinforced the message with data and legislative options. At every step, we kept multiple vehicles open—so if one path closed, another could advance the policy.
Modern Campaign Tactics
We paired traditional lobbying with a complementary strategic communications campaign. Awareneness ads reached both policymakers and their constituents, reinforcing the drumbeat of fairness. The hallmark of our approach was integration: lobbying, communications, and grassroots outreach all worked in sync, ensuring no opportunity was missed.
Lobbying & Relationships
The final breakthrough required more than good arguments; it required trust. CGCN’s decades-long relationships on Capitol Hill allowed us to cut through legislative inertia and elevate this issue at the right moments with the right champions. Because our team includes former senior staff from Congress, presidential campaigns, and the White House, we were able to anticipate roadblocks, build bipartisan credibility, and deliver the policy message in ways that resonated with decision-makers. In an environment where many had stopped listening, CGCN ensured the beauty industry finally had a voice lawmakers could not ignore.
Outcome
After two decades of gridlock and frustration, the beauty industry achieved long-sought tax fairness. CGCN delivered in 11 months what others could not in 20 years, unlocking meaningful relief for thousands of small business owners nationwide
This campaign demonstrates CGCN’s unique ability to cut through political inertia, craft compelling narratives, and turn complexity into results. When others stalled, we delivered.
- Language secured in the No Tax on Tips Act
- Ultimately included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), now law.
- Additional win: businesses can expense the credit retroactively, not just going forward.