Assuming you are declaring your income, as of October 1,
2006, any "massage, bodywork and somatic therapist" must
begin charging their clients a 7% sales tax unless they
have a doctor's prescription.
 
You may be wondering, "I just do Q-T & Reiki – does that
apply to ME?" As you hold your bated breath, a little
background is in order.
 
One of the most frequent of FAQs I see on the Q-T message
board is, "I'm not a licensed practitioner of any kind. Can
I legally practice Q-T in [my state]? The watchword has
always been to pay attention to how Reiki is treated in
your state laws, and you will have your answer.
 
Up to now, the answer for New Jersey has been, "Yes, you
can absolutely practice legally in New Jersey!" Although a
bill creating NJ State certification for "massage, bodywork
and somatic therapies" ["MBS therapies"] was passed in
August of 1999, it was merely a "titling act," meaning that
you could not call yourself a CERTIFIED massage, bodywork
or somatic therapist without having fulfilled the
provisions of the law, but you COULD practice massage,
bodywork, etc.
 
A new bill introduced this year, however, made things a bit
less reassuring.
 
The 1999 law defines "Massage, bodywork and somatic
therapies" as follows: ". . . systems of activity of
structured touch which INCLUDE HOLDING, applying pressure,
positioning and mobilizing soft tissue of the body by
manual technique and use of visual, kinesthetic, auditory
and palpating skills to assess the body for purposes of
applying therapeutic massage, bodywork or somatic
principles . . . . MASSAGE, BODYWORK AND SOMATIC THERAPY
PRACTICES ARE DESIGNED TO AFFECT THE ENERGETIC SYSTEMS OF
THE BODY FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROMOTING AND MAINTAINING THE
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THE CLIENT. Massage, bodywork and
somatic therapies do not include the diagnosis or treatment
of illness, disease, impairment or disability." [EMPHASIS
ADDED.]
 
This is obviously meant to cover a VERY broad spectrum of
the healing arts. And the language about "designed to
affect the energetic systems of the body" would put any
energywork practitioner on the alert. Simply from looking
at the language of the law, it's very difficult to
determine who is NOT included in this law.
 
The plot thickens . . . . This year, Assembly Bill 1670 was
presented. It proposes to amend the 1999 law to make
certification MANDATORY in order to practice MBS therapies
– and because it seems very likely that this will pass at
some point, it is even more important to answer the
question: are laying-on-of-hands style practices such as
Reiki and Q-T included in this term?
 
GOOD NEWS! In researching this article, I searched the term
"Reiki" on the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs internet
site and found a posting of the Minutes of the Massage,
Bodywork and Somatic Therapy Regular Open Committee
Meeting, March 1, 2006.
 
WHOOHOOO! This is what it said:
 
"CORRESPONDENCE:
================
"1. February 14, 2006 - email from Margaret Wernli
inquiring if Reiki is included in the Massage, Bodywork and
Somatic Therapy Regulations.
Ms. Wernli explained to the committee that Reiki is a form
of prayer with placing of the hand over the body when the
client is fully clothed.
The Committee feels that Reiki should be exempted from the
massage, bodywork and somatic therapy examining
regulations, because it is not a structured touch.
The Committee directed that a letter be sent to Margaret
Wernli informing her that Reiki is exempt from the
regulations.
"2. February 15, 2006 - email from Barbara Benson regarding
written policies on modalities that are exempt from the
regulations.
The committee directed that a letter be sent to Barbara
Benson explaining that the Committee does not have written
policy on modalities that are exempt from the regulations.
"3. February 24, 2006 - email from Cindy Wolk-Weiss
regarding Reiki and if it is included in the regulations.
The Committee directed that a letter be sent to Cindy
Wolk-Weiss informing her that Reiki is exempt from the
regulations."
 
YAY! Looks very likely that if you do only Reiki and/or
Quantum-Touch, you are not included in the term Massage,
Bodywork and Somatic therapist, and you DON'T have to make
your clients pay a sales tax on your services.
 
BUT! IT AIN'T OVER TILL IT'S OVER, I'M AFRAID . . . .
 
Wish that was all there is to it - but let me share the
following document I found: NEW JERSEY REGISTER, VOLUME 36,
NUMBER 22, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004, RULE ADOPTION, LAW
AND PUBLIC SAFETY, DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, NEW JERSEY
BOARD OF NURSING, MASSAGE, BODYWORK AND SOMATIC THERAPY
EXAMINING COMMITTEE
(http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/adoption/mbsado1115.htm) It
may sound dull as dishwater at first sight, but you'll have
a hard time tearing yourself away from it once you start!
 
This was an opportunity for the bodywork community to
present its concerns to the MBST Examining Committee.
Interestingly, in Comments/Responses #69 & #70 the
Examining Committee declares that it's not important to
clarify whether Reiki, Qi Gong, Bowen and other energy
modalities are included in the MBS title because
certification is not, after all, required! (That's fine for
now, but lack of clarity becomes a serious issue if
Assembly Bill 1670 passes.)
 
More disturbingly, in Comment/Response #189, the Committee
explicitly states that Reiki and Therapeutic Touch ARE
included in the title Massage, Bodywork and Somatic
Therapist. Since this was stated back in 2004, I would
presume that the 2006 Minutes have more authority – for the
moment.
 
But New Jersey's coffers are involved now that this tax on
bodywork has been declared – so even if certification
remains voluntary (which is doubtful), there's a lot of
motivation for legislators to clarify the definition of who
is defined as an MBS therapist – and obviously, the more
practitioners who can be gathered under this umbrella, the
more revenue for the state.
 
I'm afraid this story is not over. If I were you, I would
keep informed as these issues develop over time. For
further information on the current situation, see
http://amtanj.org/news_alert.phpand the related links near
the end of the article. There's contact information for our
legislators among the links given, and a link to the Board
of Nursing which lets you know where to write if you'd like
to be updated on developments.
 
It looks good for now for any practitioner who does
laying-on-of-hands style energy work, but please stay
aware, keep in touch with what's going on and communicate
with legislators if you'd like a happy ending to this one.
 
---------------------------------------------------------------
 
The LifeForce Unlimited Newsletter copyright ©2006 Jocelyn
Jacks Kahn, all rights reserved.
 
You are welcome to reprint any articles herein as long as
you include the following attribution: "LifeForce Unlimited
article ©2006 Jocelyn Jacks Kahn, all rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission. Find out more about
energy healing at: http://www.lifeforceunlimited.org"

Jocelyn Jacks Kahn