It appears that Massachusetts lawmakers have finally agreed on a date for this year’s sales tax holiday – but shoppers shouldn’t mark their calendars just yet.
The bill, released out of committee late Wednesday night, proposes a sales tax holiday for Massachusetts shoppers the weekend of August 16th through 17th, 2014.
The sales tax holiday must be voted into law each year in Massachusetts. State House and Senate legislators proposed two different weekends in August as possible dates for the tax holiday, prompting the last-minute scramble by the state’s Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies to seek agreement on a date.
With only one day left of the state’s legislative session for the season, the clock is ticking if Massachusetts lawmakers want to make the 2014 tax free weekend a reality for shoppers.
Massachusetts is one of sixteen other states that currently offers a sales tax holiday to consumers, typically in time for back to school shopping.
The tax free weekend has existed in Massachusetts for nine out of the last ten years. Shoppers, as a result, have come to expect the sales tax holiday every August.
State lawmakers aren’t necessarily as keen to the sales tax holiday as consumers as it represents a loss of anywhere from $20 million to $30 million in sales tax revenue each year.
The Massachusetts legislature meets on Beacon Hill Thursday to conclude its legislative session.
Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
Photo credit: Walmart Corporate via photopin
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