BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick says he expects to sign off on another summer tax-free weekend.
House lawmakers are planning to take up a bill this week to create the sales tax holiday. The Senate is also expected to follow suit.
Patrick said that like last year the state will have to come up with a way to offset the lost revenue, which has averaged about $20 million in past years.
Under the legislation, the sales tax holiday would be scheduled for Aug. 10 and 11 and will apply to retail sales excluding any single item priced higher than $2,500.
Sales-tax holiday weekends have become something of a tradition in Massachusetts during the dog days of summers as lawmakers hope to give a boost to businesses and consumers during a typically sluggish shopping season.
Rep. Don Humason (R-Westfield) seemed confident that the House would pass the bill again prior to Tuesday’s session.
“I’m pretty sure it’ll pass and there won’t be any surprises,” Humason said. “But it seems rather hypocritical that Democrats can pass a huge tax increase one day and then go and try to pass a sales tax weekend another.”
Humason also worries that the impending gasoline tax imposed by the state will negate whatever effect a sales tax holiday would have, and that more and more patrons will take their dollars and cents to New Hampshire in disgust.
“Every time Massachusetts changes its tax code, we do a big service to New Hampshire,” Humason said. “My colleagues in eastern Massachusetts tell me that within ten miles of the New Hampshire border is a virtual dead-zone for businesses. Many stores won’t even bother opening their doors because they don’t want to compete with New Hampshire.”
“The ‘sales tax holiday’ has been very popular and is a much needed break for tax-payers,” said Nick Boldyga (R-Southwick). “Governor Patrick has a habit for over-exaggerating. Revenues are up $650 million over last year. That’s before the Democrats raised the gas, cigarette and computer software industry tax which could bring in another half billion in revenue.”
Following last night’s session, Humason said that the sales tax holiday bill did not make it to vote, but that the House and Senate, as of press time this morning, will take up the vote in an informal session today.
“Rumor has it that it will most likely pass (the House and Senate) in an informal session,” Humason said. “I think it’s just another way for Democrats to deny the Republicans another pro-tax payer vote.”
Due to the nature of an informal session, how members of the House and Senate vote will not appear on their records, meaning that Republicans, with whom the bill enjoys universal support, voting records will not include this vote. Neither will Democrats.
On the Senate side of the coin, Sen. Michael Knapik (R-Westfield) stated that not only does the bill make sense, but the decision to make it an informal vote does as well.
“The decision was made yesterday to make it informal because, being a tax related matter, we could then bring up any tax matter to the floor for debate. The reality is that no one wanted to spend three to four hours debating other taxes.”
Knapik stated that the informal session will look to make the bill as clean as possible, with an ammendment to make it an annual holiday rather than bringing it to vote every year is on the table.
“This will be the eighth out of the past nine years we’ve done this,” Westfield’s Senator said. “It’s wildly popular with residents, it’s a win-win for everyone, and the people of Massachusetts deserve it.”
In the event that today’s informal session receives even one opposing vote, House representatives and Senators will return tomorrow for a formal vote.
“I hope the sales tax holiday passes,” said Boldyga. “Working-class people need some relief.”
However, today higher taxes on gasoline and cigarettes are kicking in for Massachusetts consumers.
The state’s gasoline tax jumps 3 cents, from 21 cents per gallon to 24 cents. The excise tax on cigarettes is also increasing $1 to $3.51 per pack.
The state has alerted retailers to begin collecting the new taxes, which were part of a transportation finance bill approved by the Legislature over the veto of Gov. Deval Patrick.
Patrick had sought a further increase in the gas tax if tolls on the western portion of the Massachusetts Turnpike come down in 2017.
The law also imposes a 6.25 percent sales tax on computer software services.
