LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If it wasn't expensive enough, having a wedding in Kentucky just got a little more costly.
Starting Jan. 1, 2023 sales taxes applied to more than 35 new services, many of which are in the wedding industry.
The Louisville Wedding Network President Jamie Lott said vendors like herself are small businesses still picking up the pieces after COVID.
Photo provided by Amanda Manning.
"We had lots go out of business in this industry. So what if this 6% is something that puts a small business out of business? How does that help Kentucky," she said.
Photography, printing services, venue rentals and event coordinators or planners are all subject to the tax.
Louisville bride-to-be Amanda Manning said the money can add up quick.
"'Well, it's just a couple $100 here, a couple $100 there,' that couple $100 adds up and then it's another $1,000 you could've spent in your budget that could have gone to something else," she said.
Her and her fiancé, Andrew Carroll, are both Oldham county natives that have been a couple for 10 years. She said there's obviously excitement around planning the big day, but with rising costs prior to 2023, the budgeting can be the hardest part.
"Looking at the budget is already been like one of the tough parts of wedding planning because it's like, you don't really go into it knowing what things cost," Manning said.
Lott said she's advising vendors to be transparent about the tax and said all she can do is wait to see how the industry holds up.
"There's no way of telling whether or not they would go to southern Indiana where they can avoid the tax. You know, people move all the time to avoid sales tax," Lott said.
Louisville bride-to-be Amanda Manning and her fiancé Andrew Carroll selected the historic Seelbach Hotel for their 2023 wedding venue.
One thing that is unclear, will there be a way for Kentucky Department of Revenue to enforce the tax. The department responded with this statement:
"The new sales tax was passed by the General Assembly, the Governor vetoed it and then the General Assembly overrode his veto. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the service provider to collect sales tax from the consumer at the time of service and remit sales tax to the Department of Revenue by the 20th day of the following month. This is the same process that exists for other businesses currently collecting sales tax at the point of sale. The Department of Revenue continues its ongoing registration and communication efforts related to these new tax law changes enacted by the General Assembly."
Lott already uses a Certified Public Accountant, CPA, but recommends any vendors worried about the tax change invest in the professional help.
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