Habic urges Irish beauty professionals to join VAT reduction campaign
The Hair and Beauty Industry Confederation (Habic) is urging beauty professionals to contact their local TDs to explain the importance of a VAT reduction to the beauty sector.
While hairdressing services in Ireland are subject to a 9% VAT rate, beauty services are still paying 13%.
Habic has been actively lobbying the Government for some time to reduce the VAT rate on beauty services from 13.5% to 9%. Now it is asking its members to join forces to help with its Wax the VAT campaign.
“We need every TD in the country to be directly contacted by a beauty salon owner, explaining the importance of a reduction in VAT to the beauty sector and to your livelihood,” it said. “We have a tight time frame to get this job done, so we really need you to make that contact before Friday, 30 July.”
Habic has compiled a list of every TD in the country on its website, and has a template letter prepared for everyone to use. There is also an option to phone the TD in question.
“Spread the word with all your beauty colleagues,” it added. “There is power in numbers, and together we can Wax the VAT.
The Irish Spa Association has also appealed to its members to contact their local TDs.
Meanwhile, Habic is also asking beauty salons and barbers to fill out a survey to establish the need for national beauty and barber apprenticeship programmes that offer a qualification that is mapped to the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), similar to the hairdressing one.
Habic, Image Skillnet, Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, industry leaders and various other industry stakeholders have come together to form a consortium to investigate the potential for the development of such apprenticeships.
To strengthen this application, it wants employers to take 10 minutes to air their views on this subject, to get a true national reflection of the needs and demands of the sector. The survey, which can be accessed on the Habic website, asks 12 questions that are relevant to establishing the need, demand and long-term viability of these apprenticeships.
