Comments on: Will government regulation kill the $15 yoga class?

By: Alyson

Alyson — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 11:57:05 +0000

Lynda, since when is $30-$40 per hour considered “paltry”?Especially when you are doing something you love, and yoga teachers teach because they love and want to share the practice with others. Secondly, not everyone on the floor is paying $15, they can be paying s low as $3 depending on how they pay-unlimited and/or annual passes, and then they practice daily. Your math is off, and sometimes those 20 students in a class is just breaking even.

By: Yassa

Yassa — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:41:35 +0000

Some thought that we must aware of either yoga class as a business or not. Nice Info to share

By: Lynda Lippin

Lynda Lippin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:44:27 +0000

Amy, this is not simply about sales tax (since, frankly, sales tax gets passed to the customer anyway). The biggest issue is the 1099s. Most studios do not allow their teachers to be completely independent. Most studios control booking, clients, and schedule. In effect, they treat their teachers as employees but do not give them the benefits. How would studios like it if all their teachers incorporated and started giving the studios 1099s for the “rent” – i.e., what’s left after they get their paltry fee on the class? Do you realize that most yoga and pilates teachers are making less money now for the same hours as they did 3 years ago?

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:15:31 +0000

Yoga studios contribute tremendously to the city’s tax base. They pay tax on products sold, they pay income tax on revenue, they pay tax for social security and unemployment for their employees etc. Yoga studios contribute millions of dollars to New York’s economic base annually. What this issue is about is whether yoga studios need to charge their students a sales tax on classes. It makes a lot of sense to me that New York should not charge sales tax for instructor-led classes that help people be healthier and, ultimately, more productive members of our community. When people are mentally and physically well, they miss work less, they use state disability insurance less etc. Healthy New Yorkers means less drain on our city and state’s economy. Charging students tax for taking yoga (or pilates or meditation etc) is a disincentive for being healthy.

By: Lyndi

Lyndi — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:32:57 +0000

Most studio owners already think like business owners. Sure, there are the few that are new to the game or trying to work out the logistics. What we often see is that studios have a hard time with retention and students letting their memberships expire. The studios that manage the customer relationships are the ones that keep the steady revenue and are able to grow even pay teachers more competitive salaries.

By: Lynda Lippin

Lynda Lippin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:27:42 +0000

All businesses should pay the same taxes, period. If studios want to pay people as independent contractors there are ways to legally do that. But to continue not protecting teachers and not contributing to the business tax base of the city is reprehensible. Remember, since so many of the $15 yoga classes are packed with over 20 people, the studio is still taking in $300 on that hour and most likely paying the teacher around $30-$40 (if that). Somehow adding another $5-$7 in to cover matching payroll deductions seems like the decent thing to do.

By: David

David — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:14:26 +0000

Great information here. Thank you for sharing and raising awareness!