Olympia, WA — Yoga studios in the state of Washington will not have to charge customers a sales tax, according to the state's Department of Revenue.
The owner of a yoga studio in Federal Way, WA, was audited earlier this year and was told that she owed about $20,000 worth of back taxes over the past three years, according to a Seattle Times report. Suzy Green-Cindrich, owner of the studio, and other area yoga instructors protested the audit.
A provision in the state law says that physical fitness services, including yoga services offered for exercise purposes, are subject to a sales tax, but state Department of Revenue rules exempt yoga studios that are primarily instructional. The backlash from the yoga studios caused the agency to reverse its course.
Yoga studios that had been collecting a sales tax discontinued that on Dec. 1, and none of the studios will be asked to pay back taxes. The department, however, plans to define what the state considers to be a yoga studio, according to the newspaper.