Locals Not Impressed by Tax-Free Weekend

People in downtown Arlington were largely indifferent Monday toward the state's upcoming tax-free holiday shopping weekend.

The local consumers said they might wait to buy necessary items during the discounted period but wouldn't splurge on anything extra.

On Saturday, state lawmakers passed the holiday weekend that removes the state's 6.25 percent sales tax on certain goods in an attempt to help area businesses.

Massachusetts has had tax-free weekends in past years, but legislators nixed the holiday last year due to budgetary concerns.

A look at the resident responses:

Jeff Gibbs

Jeff Gibbs bought a sofa at a past tax-free weekend but said the holiday determined when, not if, he was going to make the purchase.

"I needed a sofa anyways," he said while taking a break in Arlington center on Monday afternoon, "so I was like, 'I'll just wait until that day.'"

Overall, Gibbs said he views the holiday as political maneuvering.

"I don't think people buy things because they're not going to have to pay tax on it," he said. "I think they buy things because they need them."

Gibbs said a 6.25 percent savings really isn't that much anyways.

Steve Kropper

Although he doesn't recall taking advantage of past tax-free weekends, Steve Kropper said he's fine with the idea as a taxpayer.

"As much as I hate the process of filing taxes, I'm happy to pay them," he said, "so I haven't paid much attention to past (tax-free holidays)."

Kropper said the designated weekends could send an important message to taxpayers.

"Government needs to spend more time showing how it's adding value," he said, "and I suppose this is one way to show people how it's not always extracting money from people's pockets."

Although, Kropper said lawmakers should really focus on more important issues.

"I think [Gov. Deval Patrick] has got bigger problems to worry about," he said.

Gretchen McNerney

Gretchen McNerney said she hasn't taken advantage of past tax-free holidays, but she knows people that have.

"It's just a matter of whether I need something big at that time," she said, "because I'm not going to go out just to buy something."